NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has spent £295 on televisions.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred no cost since 12 April.

Departmental ICT

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on information and communication technology in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has not incurred any costs on information and communication technology.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred a cost of £2,227 since 12 April.

Departmental Marketing

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on logo design in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department and its non-departmental public body have incurred no expenditure in this area. The NIO has no agencies.

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has spent £35,205 on security.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred a cost of £221 since 12 April.

Departmental Stationery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on stationery in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has spent £1,970 on stationery.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred a cost of £903 since 12 April.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee awaydays in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has incurred no expenditure on employee awaydays.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred no cost on awaydays since 12 April

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his  (a) Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee training since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office transferred responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has spent £1,173 on training.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred a cost of £3,205 since 12 April.

Departmental Travel

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has spent on travel for employees in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) transferred responsibility for policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has spent £125,319 on travel.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred a cost of £2,457 since 12 April.

Departmental Utilities

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: On 12 April 2010 the Northern Ireland Office transferred responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available.
	Since 12 April the Department has incurred the following costs in the requested areas:
	(i) electricity £35,889;
	(ii) water £1,768;
	(iii) heating £18,299;
	(iv) telephone services £115,066.
	The NIO has no agencies. It has one non-departmental public body which has incurred the following costs since 12 April:
	(i) electricity £70;
	(ii) water £830;
	(iii) heating £352;
	(iv) telephone services £2,311.

TREASURY

Departmental Accountancy

Derek Twigg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of which public expenditure projects his Department was notified that letters of Ministerial direction had been issued to departmental permanent secretaries in each of the last three years.

Justine Greening: The information sought is set out as follows.
	
		
			   Department  Minister  Direction  Category 
			 2008 BERR (now BIS) Right hon. John Hutton MP Launch Investment VFM 
			 2008 MOD Right hon. Des Browne MP Remploy Procurement VFM 
			 2008 HMT Right hon. Alistair Darling MP Landsbanki VFM 
			 2009 BERR (now BIS) Lord Mandelson Icelandic Water Trawlermen Scheme VFM 
			 2009 BERR (now BIS) Lord Mandelson Advantage West Midlands Loan VFM 
			 2009 MOD Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP Repatriation Flights for UK Hostages in Iraq Propriety 
			 2009 MOD Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP Repatriation Flights for UK Hostages in Iraq Propriety 
			 2009 DEFRA Right hon. Hilary Benn MP Dairy Farmers of Britain VFM 
			 2009 BERR (now BIS) Lord Mandelson Leeds Arena Project VFM 
			 2009 BERR (now BIS) Lord Mandelson Car Scrappage Scheme VFM 
			 2009 BERR (now BIS) Lord Mandelson Car Scrappage Scheme VFM 
			 Date Department Minister Direction Category 
			 2009 HMT Right hon. Alistair Darling MP Asset Protection Scheme Propriety 
			 2010 DCLG Right hon. John Denham MP Proposals for new unitary local Government structures for Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk VFM 
			 2010 MOJ Right hon. Jack Straw MP Pleural Plaques Regularity and VFM 
			 2010 MOD Right hon. Bob Ainsworth MP Basra memorial wall dedication ceremony VFM 
			 2010 BIS Lord Mandelson North West Development Agency's funding for Blackpool Leisure Assets VFM 
			 2010 DCLG Right hon. John Denham MP North West Development Agency's funding for Blackpool Leisure Assets VFM

Departmental NDPBs

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the address is of the head office of each non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible.

Justine Greening: Out of Treasury's arm's-length bodies, the Royal Mint Advisory Committee is a non-departmental public body. Its contact address Llantrisant, Pontyclun, CF72 8YT.

Finance Bill 2010-11

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the contribution of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 205, on the Finance Bill, what the statistical source was of the forecast in respect of further convergence.

Danny Alexander: Convergence is a mathematical property of the Barnett formula exhibited under certain conditions, particularly when departmental spending is growing. Table 2.3 in the Budget sets out falling implied departmental expenditure limit totals over the course of the spending review period.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people not liable to pay tax at the 50 pence higher rate subject to marginal deduction rates of over  (a) 60,  (b) 70,  (c) 80 and  (d) 90 per cent. in (i) (A) 2011 and (B) 2012-13 under the proposals in the June 2010 budget and (ii) (1) 2011-12 and (2) 2012-13 under the proposals in the March 2010 budget.

David Gauke: Annex A of the June 2010 Budget provides estimates of the numbers of families subject to marginal deduction rates (MDR) of over 60, 70, 80, 90% in 2010-11 and 2011-12 under proposals in the March 2010 and June 2010 Budgets. The footnote to this table states that rates are estimated for families in receipt of income-related benefits or tax credits, and hence those facing a 50% income tax rate are not included. Consistent with previous Budgets, MDR estimates have been set out for the forthcoming tax year only.

Insurance: Construction

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints the  (a) Financial Services Authority and  (b) Financial Ombudsman Service has received on the Federation of Master Builders Masterbond warranty scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 22 June 2010
	Both the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) are operationally independent of Government.
	The Financial Services Authority does not investigate complaints about firms from individual consumers, that is role of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
	Every six months, the FOS publishes data on individual financial businesses where it has received at least 30 new cases and resolved at least 30 cases relating to the business during the period. The FOS does not comment separately on the overall performance of individual businesses.

Public Expenditure

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the full-year effect is of reductions in the revenue expenditure of each department announced by his Department.

Danny Alexander: The reductions to Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL) for 2010-11 from the £6.2 billion of cuts announced on 24 May are set out in table 3.7 of the recent Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2010:
	
		
			  Department  RDEL Reduction (£ million) 
			 Education 671 
			 Transport 290 
			 Communities and Local Government 455 
			 Local Government 325 
			 Business, Innovation and Skills 295 
			 Home Office 323 
			 Justice 142 
			 Law Officers' Departments 17 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 50 
			 Energy and Climate Change 14 
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 97 
			 Culture, Media and Sport 49 
			 Work and Pensions 493 
			 Chancellor's Departments 101 
			 Cabinet Office 73 
		
	
	In addition the Devolved Administrations will have the option of making savings this year or deferring their share of the savings, which total £699 million (capital and resource), until the next financial year.
	The announcements on 17 June on project reapprovals, and on 5 July on unfunded spending commitments, will not reduce 2010-11 RDEL.

Public Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the full-year effect on departmental revenue budgets is of changes to departments' capital programmes proposed by his Department.

Danny Alexander: The reductions to Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) for 2010-11 from the £6.2 billion of cuts announced on 24 May are set out in table 3.8 of the recent Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2010:
	
		
			  Department  CDEL Reduction (£ million) 
			 Education 0 
			 Transport 399 
			 Communities and Local Government 166 
			 Local Government 79 
			 Business, Innovation and Skills 343 
			 Home Office 35 
			 Justice 182 
			 Law Officers' Departments 1 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 5 
			 Energy and Climate Change 70 
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 64 
			 Culture, Media and Sport 22 
			 Work and Pensions 52 
			 Chancellor's Departments 30 
			 Cabinet Office 6 
		
	
	In addition the Devolved Administrations will have the option of making savings this year or deferring their share of the savings, which total £699 million (capital and resource), until the next financial year.
	The announcements on 17 June on project reapprovals, and on 5 July on unfunded spending commitments, will not reduce 2010-11 CDEL.

Taxation: Aviation

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that air tax exemptions for the Highlands and Islands are maintained in implementing his proposals to replace air passenger duty with a per-plane tax;
	(2)  what consultation his Department plans to undertake in the Highlands and Islands on his proposals to replace air passenger duty with a per-plane tax;
	(3)  whether he plans to review the military exemptions from air passenger duty;
	(4)  whether his proposals for a per-plane tax will apply to cargo flights operating within the Highlands and Islands region.

Justine Greening: The Budget announced that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty, which could encourage fuller planes. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Taxation: PFI

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of bringing forward proposals to change the rules on private finance initiatives (PFI) to require all PFI contractors to pay full tax in the UK.

Danny Alexander: All PFI companies are contractually committed to deliver their service subject to the UK tax regime.
	Government's policy in this area is set out in annex 4.4 of Managing Public Money which may be found in the public spending and reporting section of the Treasury website.

VAT

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will  (a) commission research on and  (b) make an estimate of the (i) effect on the economy and (ii) likely level of Exchequer receipts consequent on the setting of a higher rate of value added tax for luxury goods.

David Gauke: Since the late 1970s European VAT law setting out the principles according to which VAT is to be applied does not provide for a higher rate of VAT.
	In 1977 the 6th VAT directive on VAT was signed. Its purpose was to harmonise the principles on which the tax was to be applied throughout the then EEC. The directive limited the number of rates to a single standard rate with up to two reduced rates on a specified list of supplies. This prohibits the UK having a higher rate of VAT on specific items. There were derogations, including our zero rates.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Concessions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of expenditure on the national concessionary bus fares scheme in each of the next five years.

Norman Baker: The following forecast is for expenditure by travel concession authorities on concessionary travel for older and disabled people. This includes spend on discretionary concessions offered by local authorities, as well as spend on the statutory national scheme. The forecast assumes eligible age for the scheme rises in line with the rising female pension age, as has already been committed.
	As part of a package of reforms, it was announced in the pre-Budget report that savings in how the scheme operates could be explored-in particular whether savings could be made through a more efficient method by which travel concession authorities reimburse bus operators. This work is now being taken forward as part of the spending review. These potential savings have therefore not been included in the forecast.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2010-11 1,080 
			 2011-12 1,089 
			 2012-13 1,108 
			 2013-14 1,132 
			 2014-15 1,157

Crossrail

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected date is for completion of the Crossrail spur to  (a) Maidenhead and  (b) Abbey Wood; and when the current proposed Crossrail network will be completed.

Theresa Villiers: The planned date for commencement of Crossrail operations remains 2017 with current plans for all Crossrail works on the committed scheme due for completion by 2017.

Crossrail Line: Kent

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the planned timetable is for the completion of work on the Crossrail Abbey Wood spur.

Theresa Villiers: The precise construction phasing for aspects of the Crossrail project, including the Abbey Wood spur, is yet to be finalised. The planned date for commencement of Crossrail operations is 2017.

Cycling: Safety

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget was of Cycle England in each of the last five years; and how much of that budget was spent on encouraging cyclists to wear cycle helmets.

Norman Baker: holding answer 12 July 2010
	Cycling England was created in March 2005 with an annual budget of £5 million (2005-06). That was subsequently increased to £10 million for 2006-07 and in 2007-08 the budget was further increased to £20 million, rising to £60 million in 2009-10. For 2010-11 the budget was reduced from £60 million to £58 million by the last Administration.
	There is no specific Cycling England programme to encourage cycle helmet wearing. However a number of programmes funded by Cycling England give advice on cycle helmet wearing, such as Bikeability training.

Cycling: Schools

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to increase provision of cycling training in schools.

Norman Baker: The delivery of cycle training in schools rests with local highway authorities. To assist increased provision of cycle training in England, the Department for Transport has awarded grants to local authorities in 2010-11 for "Bikeability" training of just over £6 million. We are also providing £5 million to schools through School Sports Partnerships in England to provide further Bikeability training opportunities. £500,000 is also available in 2010-11 to provide bursary grants for training new instructors (£300 bursary per trainer) and assistant instructors (£150 bursary per trainer) to help meet the increased demand for Bikeability training.
	Future Government funding for cycle training will be considered as part of the current spending review.

Driving: Safety

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of people who drive  (a) while using a mobile telephone,  (b) without wearing a seat belt,  (c) while disqualified and  (d) without insurance; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport monitors the number of drivers who are convicted each year of these offences and works with the police and other Government Departments on the most effective enforcement of road traffic law. If the evidence suggests it is necessary, the Department will consider taking additional measures to achieve compliant driver behaviour.

First Capital Connect

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the performance of First Capital Connect in meeting its  (a) rail franchise obligations and  (b) targets; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Under its franchise agreement, First Capital Connect is required to report its delivery against its operational franchise obligations and performance targets at the end of each rail industry period, the latest period being 30 May to 26 June 2010. This performance is then assessed by officials in the Department for Transport and action taken as required.
	First Capital Connect are currently meeting their operational performance target in the franchise agreement. Their public performance measure in the latest period was 90.4%.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars the Government Car and Despatch Agency has sold since 6 May 2010.

Michael Penning: The Government Car and Despatch Agency has sold 14 cars since 6 May 2010.

Railways

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluation of proposed improvements to the rail strategic network he plans to undertake prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Theresa Villiers: The Government are currently looking at a wide range of options as part of the spending review process.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Public Expenditure

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether equality impact assessments will be used in determining the areas of his Department's budget in respect of which spending will be reduced.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions is considering the equality impacts of all its spending review proposals as plans develop.

Departmental Regulation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of his Department's regulations are under review; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for a wide range of regulations; by necessity the Department is constantly reviewing regulations in relation to delivering its business. Details of those specific regulations currently under review could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disability Living Allowance

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Wansbeck constituency and  (b) the UK are in receipt of (i) the mobility component, (ii) the care component and (iii) both the care and mobility components of disability living allowance.

Maria Miller: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  DLA cases in payment: Wansbeck parliamentary constituency, November 2009 
			   All  Care component only  Mobility component only  Both Care and mobility component 
			 All cases 3,119,010 407,880 497,710 2,213,420 
			 Wansbeck 5,400 580 1,140 3,680 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload: Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 2. Parliamentary Constituency: Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. 3. A small number of DLA cases are not resident in Britain. The total of both invalid and non-British addresses amounts to 3,240 cases. Geographical area for aggregated statistical analysis is determined by matching customers' postcodes to an ONS supplied postcode directory which gives a number of standard geographies. If a customer's record does not have a valid postcode then no area code is allocated. Customers with addresses abroad do not have British postcodes and therefore are not matched to a British area code. For statistical purposes these two groups of cases have no British area code allocated and cannot be separated on National Statistics data sets for analysis. The total of both British cases without valid postcodes and addresses abroad amounts to 3,240 cases out of the total caseload of 3.12 million. 4. Figures are given for Great Britain rather then the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland Benefits are administered by Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.  Definitions and Conventions: Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; Some additional disclosure control has also been applied; Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Ethnic Minority Employment Taskforce is next due to meet; what its role is; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The coalition Government are committed to improving opportunities for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. The Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force was set up in 2003 to drive forward strategies designed to ensure ethnic minorities no longer face disproportionate barriers to achievement in the labour market. Task Force membership includes Ministers from all key departments as this multi-dimensional issue requires a cross-governmental approach.
	It has not been possible for the Task Force to meet since the general election, however, updates on the work agenda together with minutes of every meeting can be found on the Task Force's website:
	http://www.emetaskforce.gov.uk

Health and Safety Executive: Expenditure

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Health and Safety Executive's budget was in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Chris Grayling: The answer is provided in the table.
	
		
			  HSE net resource outturns 1997-98 to 2008-09 
			  Financial year  HSE (£000) 
			 1997-98 178,600 
			 1998-99 177,500 
			 1999-2000 182,300 
			 2000-01 189,400 
			 2001-02 203,301 
			 2002-03 202,276 
			 2003-04 197,909 
			 2004-05 215,544 
			 2005-06(1) 239,005 
			 2006-07(2) 233,622 
			 2007-08(3) 215,121 
			 2008-09 219,234 
			 2009-10 229,931 
			 (1) The 2005-06 outturn has been restated to reflect the transfer of responsibility for rail regulation from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation on 1 April 2006 but the figures from 1997-98 to 2004-05 have not been restated. (2) The 2006-07 outturn has been restated to reflect: the transfer of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the UK Safeguards Office to HSE on 1 April 2007; and the change in treatment of non-retainable income in accordance with HM Treasury's guidance. Figures from previous years have not been restated. (3) The 2007-08 outturn figures have been restated to reflect: the transfer of Pesticides Safety Directorate to HSE on 1 April 2008 and the capitalisation of software licenses. The merger of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) with HSE on 1 April 2008, is also reflected in the restated outturn figures for 2007-08. Figures from 1997-98 to 2008-09 include the aggregated cost of HSC and HSE.

Health and Safety Executive: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors were employed by the Health and Safety Executive in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Chris Grayling: The answer is provided in the table.
	
		
			  At 1 April  Number of inspectors( 1) 
			 1997 1,442 
			 1998 1,437 
			 1999 1,497 
			 2000 1,508 
			 2001 1,534 
			 2002 1,625 
			 2003 1,651 
			 2004 1,605 
			 2005 1,530 
			 2006 (2)1,444 
			 2007 1,440 
			 2008 1,366 
			 2009 1,469 
			 2010 1,517 
			 (1) All figures are for full-time equivalents, rounded to the nearest whole number. (2 )The number and that for the subsequent years excludes 95 inspectors (full-time equivalents) that moved from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation when responsibility for rail regulation health and safety matters transferred on 1 April 2006.

Industrial Health and Safety

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology his Department uses to monitor public attitudes towards health and safety legislation.

Chris Grayling: Since 2004 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has commissioned an annual suite of complementary surveys to measure attitudes towards (and awareness of) health and safety at work. In 2009, these surveys targeted three distinct groups: employees, workplace health and safety managers and chief executive officers or senior directors of medium and large businesses and public sector bodies. The latter two surveys include questions that measure attitudes towards health and safety requirements.
	I have arranged for a copy of the 2009 survey report to be placed in the Library.
	In addition to the annual monitoring of attitudes towards health and safety through this survey programme, ad-hoc evaluation studies may also capture attitudes towards specific health and safety legislation of particular groups at a fixed point in time.

Industrial Injuries

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workplace injuries there were in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Chris Grayling: The best estimate of the overall number of injuries to workers comes from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Data are also available from notifications of workplace injuries that are made under RIDDOR-the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. This latter dataset only includes accidents that result in hospital admission or an absence from work of over three days and is subject to the drawback that there is considerable underreporting. However, it has a wider coverage than the LFS, as it covers not only workers but also members of the public that are injured in accidents connected to work activities. The following table provides estimates from the LFS for workers and the total number of RIDDOR injury notifications for the period 1996-97 to 2008-09.
	
		
			   Estimated incidence of self-reported workplace injuries from the LFS  Total count of RIDDOR injuries to workers and members of the public 
			 1996-97 (1)- 195,236 
			 1997-98 (1)- 195,055 
			 1998-99 (1)- 186,619 
			 1999-2000 1,051,000 191,143 
			 2000-01 1,058,000 184,546 
			 2001-02 1,007,000 174,990 
			 2002-03 1,026,000 171,743 
			 2003-04 949,000 178,392 
			 2004-05 880,000 169,533 
			 2005-06 833,000 166,971 
			 2006-07 851,000 163,972 
			 2007-08 817,000 159,712 
			 2008-09 726,000 *157,835 
			 (1) Comparable data is not available from the LFS for the 1996-97 to 1998-99.  Note: The annual basis of RIDDOR recording is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March. Data for 2008-09 is provisional, denoted by '*'.  Source: Labour Force Survey and RIDDOR

Industrial Injuries

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workers incurred a workplace injury in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Chris Grayling: The best estimate of the overall number of injuries to workers comes from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Data are also available from notifications of workplace injuries that are made under RIDDOR-the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. This latter dataset only includes accidents that result in hospital admission or an absence from work of over three days and is subject to the drawback that there is considerable underreporting. The following table provides the figures from the LFS and RIDDOR regarding injuries to workers for the period 1996-97 to 2008-09.
	
		
			   Estimated incidence of self-reported workplace injuries from the LFS  Total count of RIDDOR injuries to workers 
			 1996-97 (1)- 159,175 
			 1997-98 (1)- 166,049 
			 1998-99 (1)- 162,450 
			 1999-2000 1,051,000 165,648 
			 2000-01 1,058,000 163,266 
			 2001-02 1,007,000 159,763 
			 2002-03 1,026,000 158,554 
			 2003-04 949,000 164,339 
			 2004-05 880,000 154,847 
			 2005-06 833,000 150,702 
			 2006-07 851,000 145,784 
			 2007-08 817,000 140,797 
			 2008-09 726,000 *134,094 
			 (1) Comparable data is not available from the LFS for the early part of the time period, 1996-97 to 1998-99.  Note: The annual basis of RIDDOR recording is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March. Data for 2008-09 is provisional, denoted by '*'  Source: Labour Force Survey and RIDDOR

Industrial Injuries

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-workers were injured by workplace activities in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Chris Grayling: Notifications of injuries to members of the public arising from a work activity (i.e. the injured person was not at work themselves) are made under RIDDOR-the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. This dataset includes accidents to members of the public that are either fatal or that result in the injured person being taken directly to hospital. The following table provides the figures from RIDDOR regarding injuries to members of the public for the period 1996-97-2008-09.
	
		
			   Total count of RIDDOR injury notifications to members of the public 
			 1996-97 36,061 
			 1997-98 29,006 
			 1998-99 24,169 
			 1999-2000 25,495 
			 2000-01 21,280 
			 2001-02 15,227 
			 2002-03 13,189 
			 2003-04 14,053 
			 2004-05 14,686 
			 2005-06 16,269 
			 2006-07 18,188 
			 2007-08 18,915 
			 2008-09(1) (2)23,741 
			 (1) Provisional. (2) For 2008-09, a change in the legal interpretation of the reportability of accidents occurring in schools has resulted in the addition of approximately 3,400 additional records. In addition, a reduced level of quality checks on reportability was undertaken on incidents involving members of the public in local authority (LA) enforced premises. An estimate shows that there are approximately 740 LA records included in the 2008-09 total that in previous years would have been excluded.

Industrial Injuries

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the probability of a person being injured at work.

Chris Grayling: Based on the latest rate of self-reported workplace injury, we estimate that approximately one in 40 workers currently suffer from a workplace injury in a 12-month period. This estimate is based on the percentage of workers who sustained a workplace injury in 2008-09. The following table gives the percentages for 1999-2000 to 2008-09.
	
		
			   Estimated percentage of workers suffering workplace injury in previous 12-months 
			 1999-2000 4.0 
			 2000-01 4.0 
			 2001-02 3.8 
			 2002-03 3.8 
			 2003-04 3.5 
			 2004-05 3.2 
			 2005-06 3.0 
			 2006-07 3.1 
			 2007-08 2.9 
			 2008-09 2.6 
			  Source: Labour Force Survey

Jobcentre Plus

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of Jobcentre Plus with clients with mental health and substance abuse issues; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: There has been no recent formal assessment of the work of Jobcentre Plus with customers who have substance misuse issues. However, following discussions with officials from the Department of Health, Jobcentre Plus has strengthened its support to this customer group.
	An assessment of support for people with mental health issues was made in 2009. Jobcentre Plus introduced a Mental Health Coordinator in each district. This strengthens the framework of support available to people with health conditions. We are currently considering how best to support customers with mental health and substance abuse issues and are committed to ensuring that they are able to participate fully in the society.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Durham

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of  (a) individuals and  (b) lone parents who will have been on jobseeker's allowance for over 12 months in City of Durham constituency in 2013.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Durham

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of lone parents in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in City of Durham constituency.

Chris Grayling: In April 2010 there were 60 lone parents claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in City of Durham.
	The figure has been rounded to the nearest five.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the level of funding allocated to the Independent Living Fund for the financial year  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

Maria Miller: The Independent Living Fund budget for 2010-11 is £348 million. This is an increase of 3% above its previous year's allocation.
	No decisions have been made beyond the current financial year. Departmental budgets for future years are all subject to the forthcoming spending review across Government.

SCOTLAND

Independent Living Fund: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has had discussions with  (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and  (b) the Scottish Executive on the closure of applications to the Independent Living Fund for the 2010-11 financial year.

Michael Moore: Although the budget of the Independent Living Fund has risen this year, pressure on it has meant that the Fund has been closed to new applicants for the rest of the financial year. This will ensure that existing claimants are protected and continue to get the help they need. I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues.

Lanarkshire: Official Visits

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times he has visited Lanarkshire on official business since 7 May 2010; and when he next intends to do so.

Michael Moore: I have not visited Lanarkshire on official business since 7 May 2010. I have plans to visit many areas of Scotland in the course of my duties as Secretary of State for Scotland.

Lanarkshire: Official Visits

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to visit Lanarkshire to discuss Government spending priorities in that area.

Michael Moore: I will be visiting many areas of Scotland and undertaking discussions on a wide range of issues whilst representing the Scotland Office.

Merchant Shipping

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date he last discussed the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 with the Secretary of State for Transport.

Michael Moore: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning) made a written ministerial statement on 8 July 2010,  Official Report, column 14WS, confirming that the Government are in no doubt that ship-to-ship transfers require some form of regulation because of their potential damage to the UK's seas and coasts. However, given the concerns expressed by industry about some aspects of the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010, the Government have decided to defer their entry into force while a review is conducted.

Transport: Scotland

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on cross-border rail services serving Motherwell.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues.

Transport: Scotland

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions he has used cross-border rail services via Motherwell since 7 May 2010; and when he next plans to do so.

Michael Moore: I have not used cross-border rail services via Motherwell in my role as Secretary of State for Scotland since 7 May 2010.

Voting Systems: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) meetings and  (b) correspondence he has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on the date of the proposed referendum on the alternative vote system.

Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend and other colleagues on this and other matters.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the mileage travelled by each Minister in his Department in a Government car in  (a) May and  (b) June 2010.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Mike Penning) on 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 624W.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) speechwriting team, which serves my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the five other FCO Ministers, consists of four civil servants.

European Union

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the cost to his Department of compliance with regulations arising from EU obligations in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Zimbabwe: Diamonds

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Zimbabwean counterpart on the export of diamonds and compliance with the Kimberley Process requirements.

Henry Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is disappointed the Kimberley Process did not reach agreement on Zimbabwean diamonds when it met on 21-24 June 2010, and calls on its participants to work hard to reach agreement when they meet again on 14-16 July.
	Our embassy in Harare will continue to urge the Government of Zimbabwe to maintain a firm commitment to the Kimberley Process and urgently to take action to bring all mining operations in the Marange fields into compliance with Kimberley Process requirements.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Deployment

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in how many military  (a) conventional state on state and  (b) counter insurgency conflicts British forces have been involved in the last 30 years.

Liam Fox: There is no standard definition of conflict, state conflict, or counter insurgency. Taking a reasonable interpretation of these terms, since 1980 UK forces have been involved in the following conflicts involving force against another state, some of them undertaken in distinct operational phases over time: Falkland Islands; Bosnia; Kosovo; Iraq (twice). Operations of a counter insurgency nature have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, and the follow on phases of the second Iraq conflict.
	Operations that fall outside these definitions including peace keeping and peace support, UN observer missions, evacuation and humanitarian operations and military aid to the civil authorities.
	Details of individual defence operations and their purposes over the period in question can be found in the Defence Annual Report and Accounts, and its predecessor publications, which are all published documents and are placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Private Education

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 4-5W, on armed forces: private education, what the  (a) highest,  (b) lowest and  (c) average parental contribution paid in respect of each rank in receipt of continuity of education allowance was in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Andrew Robathan: Details of the average parental contribution paid by each rank in receipt of continuity of education allowance are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Private Education

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 4-5W, on armed forces: private education, if he will review the amount of parental contribution to the continuity of education allowance paid by service personnel in receipt of the allowance.

Andrew Robathan: All allowances remain under regular review to ensure that service personnel are adequately recompensed for conditions of service not covered by the x-factor and for the necessary additional costs incurred by virtue of service. Continuity of education allowance allows a stability of education when a service family is required to be mobile for service reasons. Under current arrangements the service person claiming the allowance pays a minimum contribution of 10% of the school fees. The level of this contribution has been scrutinised every year and is currently assessed as appropriate.

Defence

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has set a timetable for receiving contributions to the Strategic Defence and Security Review from  (a) members of the public and  (b) representative organisations.

Oliver Letwin: I have been asked to reply.
	Government have already begun engaging with key partners and representative organisations on the Strategic Defence and Security Review, and will be providing individual members of the armed forces and their families with the opportunity to contribute. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the noble Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 7 July 2010,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA 48. The Government expect to publish a National Security Strategy and the outcomes of the Strategic Defence and Security Review in the autumn, in coordination with the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). Contributions and ideas from members of the public and representative organisations and others are welcome at any time during this process.

Departmental Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent  (a) in total and  (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is not held centrally. To determine a cost for this activity would require extensive collation from all areas of the MOD and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Human Resources

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on human resources in each year since 1997.

Andrew Robathan: Financial information for both civilian and military human resources is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the original estimated cost was of the Defence Information Infrastructure project; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of that project.

Peter Luff: The current estimate of the whole Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) Programme is around £7.1 billion; this figure was reported by the NAO in their Value for Money Report published 4 July 2008. This figure includes two future-and not on contract-increments for DII Deployed Restricted and the second tranche of DII Top Secret and also includes other separately funded programmes, which are outside of DII but on which DII depends.
	An earlier estimate of £5.854 billion was calculated at contract let as the cost to deploy DII to permanent land sites only. This estimate did not include monies for DII Deployed and Top Secret as their capability and scope were not fully mature at that time.
	Due to the changing shape of the defence landscape, which will be informed by the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the current £7.1 billion estimate may need to be revisited once the review is completed.

Departmental Training

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training has been provided for Ministers in his Department since the formation of the present administration; and at what cost.

Andrew Robathan: Defence Ministers have been provided with a wide-ranging induction package including briefs on security, finance, IT, and the running of Government. In-house media training is also given so that Ministers are able to effectively communicate the objectives of the Ministry of Defence and the work of the armed forces to the media and the wider public.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 3 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 51-52W. The National School of Government is funded through its Core Learning Programme to deliver induction and other training to Ministers, and there is no separate charge to Departments.

European Fighter Aircraft

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the number of employees in the UK defence and aerospace sector working on the Typhoon Fighter programme  (a) in East Yorkshire and  (b) in the UK.

Peter Luff: Analysis by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is that a minimum of 8,600 jobs should be directly sustained in the UK by the Typhoon programme. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on how many of these jobs are in East Yorkshire.

Gibraltar: Spain

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received on the incident between Royal Navy vessels and the Spanish Civil Guard patrol boats which took place in British waters around Gibraltar on 17 June 2010.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 13 July 2010
	 There are no reports of an incident in British Gibraltarian Territorial Waters involving the Royal Navy on 17 June 2010.

Red Arrows

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the military application is of the Red Arrows; and what military usage has been made of the Red Arrows in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: The Red Arrows do not have a direct operational role. However, they contribute to a number of military tasks, including public duties and security co-operation, where they support defence diplomacy by demonstrating British excellence, strengthening international relations and promoting wider British influence and interests.
	Readily available information on Red Arrows participation in events of this nature over the last five years is provided in the following table. This excludes the significant number of fly-pasts (undertaken en-route) to and from more formal engagements as this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   UK display  UK formal flypast  Overseas display  Overseas formal fly-past 
			 2005 79 3 16 1 
			 2006 64 1 16 0 
			 2007 70 4 19 0 
			 2008 57 6 12 0 
			 2009 82 2 12 0

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects on  (a) soil science,  (b) traditional plant breeding,  (c) marker-assisted plant breeding,  (d) crop agronomy,  (e) plant physiology,  (f) plant pathology,  (g) agricultural botany,  (h) environmental microbiology,  (i) weed science,  (j) entomology,  (k) crop irrigation,  (l) nitrogen fixation,  (m) soil phosphorous,  (n) soil erosion,  (o) pollinating insects and  (p) integrated pest management her Department has funded since 1997; what the (i) research topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Richard Benyon: Data taken from the Science Information System, used to store data on all of DEFRA's research and development projects, have been placed in the House Library.
	Each project is assigned keywords, which is how the list was generated.
	The results using these keywords is as closely matched as possible but due to the design of the system it is not possible to extract the data precisely as requested.

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects designed to assist the development of organic agriculture her Department has funded since 1997; what the  (a) research topic,  (b) start date,  (c) cost and  (d) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Richard Benyon: Data taken from the Science Information System, used to store data on all of DEFRA's research and development projects, have been placed in the House Library.
	Each project is assigned certain appropriate keywords, which is how the list was generated.
	The results are as closely matched as possible but due to the design of the system it is not possible to necessarily extract the data precisely as requested.

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects designed to assist farmers to  (a) mitigate the effects of and  (b) adapt to climate change her Department has funded since 1997; what the (i) research topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Richard Benyon: Data taken from the Science Information System, used to store data on all of DEFRA's research and development projects, have been placed in the House Library.
	Each project is assigned certain appropriate keywords, which is how the list was generated.
	The results are as closely matched as possible but due to the design of the system it is not possible to extract the data precisely as requested.

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects on  (a) the sources and quantity of greenhouse gases,  (b) water pollution and  (c) air pollution arising from agricultural activity her Department has funded since 1997; what the (i) research topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Richard Benyon: Data taken from the science information system, used to store data on all of DEFRA's research and development projects, have been placed in the House Library.
	Each project is assigned certain appropriate keywords, which is how the list was generated.
	The results are as closely matched as possible but due to the design of the system it is not possible to extract the data precisely as requested.

Air Pollution

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance her Department offers to local authorities for the purpose of managing air quality management areas.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA supports local authorities in a number of ways, most specifically through the provision of guidance.
	Guidance is intended to ensure consistency of approach in meeting Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) duties and to provide practice guidance on preparing action plans, consulting stakeholders and developing measures, including cost benefit appraisals. We provide technical, policy and practice guidance on local air quality management and in measures to improve air quality.
	All our guidance on air quality can be found at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/air/airquality/local/guidance/index.htm
	A support package, including a helpdesk, emissions tools and case studies, is also available at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/air/airquality/local/support/index.htm
	An air quality grant is also available, currently £2.3 million per year, to support statutory duties on LAQM, and help support (running costs) for monitoring, emissions inventories, dispersion modelling and action planning.
	Since introduction, DEFRA has distributed grant funding of £41 million to English local authorities.

Air Pollution: East of England

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when each air quality management area in each local authority in the East of England was designated.

Richard Benyon: To date, 28 local authorities have designated air quality management areas in the East of England. These are listed in the following table alongside the dates the air quality management areas (AQMA) came into effect.
	Further information is available on the UK National Air Quality Archive
	http://aqma.defra.gov.uk/list.php
	which is operated on behalf of the Department.
	
		
			  Authority  Date of effect of AQMA 
			 Babergh District Council 21 November 2008 
			 Bedford Borough Council 17 May 2005 and 6 November 2009 
			 Breckland District Council 9 May 2005 
			 Brentwood Borough Council 10 January 2005 
			 Broxbourne Borough Council 1 November 2001 and 1 March 2004 
			 Cambridge City Council 1 September 2004 
			 Central Bedfordshire Council 17 January 2005 
			 Colchester Borough Council 1 May 2001 and 1 January 2006 
			 Chelmsford Borough Council 1 December 2005 
			 East Hertfordshire Council 14 February 2007 
			 Epping Forest District Council 1 January 2008 
			 Fenland District Council 1 May 2001, 1 April 2006 and 1 September 2006 
			 Forest Heath District Council 6 April 2009 
			 Hertsmere Borough Council 8 April 2003 and 1 January 2005 
			 Huntingdonshire District Council 1 December 2005 and 1 September 2006 
			 Ipswich Borough Council 11 April 2006 
			 Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 1 November 2003 
			 Luton Borough Council 3 November 2003 and 31 March 2005 
			 Norwich City Council 1 June 2003 
			 Peterborough Council 1 May 2007 
			 South Cambridgeshire District Council 17 July 2008 
			 St Albans City and District 2 September 2002 and 2 November 2004 
			 St Edmundsbury Borough Council 1 June 2010 
			 Suffolk Coastal District Council 3 April 2006 and 1 May 2009 
			 Three Rivers District Council 1 April 2001 
			 Thurrock Council 1 April 2001 and 1 February 2005 
			 Uttlesford District Council 1 August 2007 
			 Watford Borough Council 17 February 2006

Air Pollution: East of England

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many areas in the East of England formerly designated as air quality management areas have had that designation removed in each year since 1997.

Richard Benyon: Since 1997 10 local authorities in the East of England have revoked air quality management areas. These are:
	
		
			  Authority  Date of AQMA revocation 
			 Babergh district council(2) 9 March 2004 
			 Bedford borough council(1) 6 November 2009 
			 Broadland district counci(l) 6 April 2010 
			 Central Bedfordshire council(1) 6 November 2009 
			 East Hertfordshire council(2) 28 July 2004 
			 Hertsmere borough council(2) 8 April 2003 
			 Kings Lynn and W Norfolk(1) 11 August 2006 
			 South Cambridgeshire district council(1) 23 July 2008 
			 St Edmundsbury borough council(2) 14 January 2003 
			 Thurrock council(1) 1 February 2005 
			 (1) Part of AQMA was revoked still leaving in place some AQMAs (2) Further AQMA was declared following the revocation

Dairy Farming: Cooperatives

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the creation of and support for dairy farming co-operatives; and what recent steps her Department has taken in support of this policy.

James Paice: It is the coalition's policy to enhance the role of farming co-operatives-which have an important role to play in improving the productivity and competitiveness of farming.
	Earlier this year, the EFRA Select Committee issued a report following the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain in the summer of 2009. Its recommendations were wide-reaching and covered complex and specialist issues which go beyond DEFRA's responsibilities for dairy and agricultural cooperatives. DEFRA is leading across Government to bring together a response to this report and the Secretary of State will be formally responding to the Committee shortly.

Departmental Lost Property

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from the Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Richard Benyon: Property items lost or stolen are all recorded as 'losses'. The following table shows losses with an estimated value (at the time of loss) of over £50. Figures are from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010.
	
		
			  Description  Number  Estimated value (£) 
			 BlackBerrys 9 1,510 
			 Camera 1 100 
			 Laptops 41 25,650 
			 Desktop PCs 4 1,050 
			 Projectors 3 1,850 
			 Monitors 5 460 
			 Other items 4 550 
		
	
	Measures to deter, prevent and detect theft are an important feature of the Department's protective security controls. These controls reflect the standards set out in the HMG Security Policy Framework (SPF) issued by the Cabinet Office.
	DEFRA takes the loss of equipment very seriously so regular security guidance is provided to staff. Security breach patrols are undertaken and staff are notified of instances where equipment has been left out or inadequately secured.

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the mileage travelled by each Minister in her Department in a Government car in  (a) May and  (b) June 2010.

Richard Benyon: The Department does not hold this information.

Departmental Regulation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of her Department's regulations are under review; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Government are taking steps to reduce the burden of regulation, including a fundamental review of regulations in the pipeline. DEFRA is playing a full part in this process.
	As part of this commitment, Richard Macdonald will head an industry-led Task Force on Farming Regulation to identify ways to reduce the regulatory burden and advise on how best to achieve a risk-based system of regulation.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in her Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in her Department.

Richard Benyon: Two and a half civil servants are employed to write speeches for the ministerial team.

EU Law

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the cost to her Department of compliance with regulations arising from EU obligations in the last 12 months.

James Paice: The last estimate of the cost of EU regulation to British businesses made by DEFRA was contained in the second Forward Regulatory Programme published in April 2010. This publication includes new regulatory costs stemming from the EU between April 2010 and April 2011. DEFRA has not to date estimated the overall cost of either all individual EU regulation or domestic regulation, however we are currently reviewing our regulatory landscape (both stock and pipeline measures) in line with commitments made in the coalition agreement to significantly strengthen the approach to reducing the burden of regulation.
	We also recently announced two specific reviews which will capture and scrutinise regulation originating from the EU. The Task Force on Farming Regulation, announced on 9 June, has been set up to identify ways to reduce the regulatory burden placed on the farming sector. A similar review on 'Waste' policy in England was announced on 15 June.

Horses: Databases

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the percentage of accessible National Equine Database records of pedigrees which are accurate; and what assessment he has made of the effect on that level of accuracy of the  (a) absence and  (b) lack of public availability of data on semen imports and artificial insemination.

James Paice: As of 8 July 2010, National Equine Database Ltd has reported that there are 1,389,192 active horse records in the National Equine Database. Of these, some 56% (774,575 records) have had sire or dam data supplied by independent breed societies.
	Pedigree records are held on the commercial section of the National Equine Database, which is owned and managed by National Equine Database Ltd on behalf of the equine sector. The Government do not mandate the collection of pedigree data, which is provided on a voluntarily basis by breed societies.
	No assessment has been made of the impact of semen imports and artificial insemination on the number of accurate pedigree records in the National Equine Database. Such data are not held on the Database. The Government do not maintain statistics on the artificial insemination of horses.

Litter

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce the level of litter.

Richard Benyon: This Government have made reducing litter a priority. There is no excuse for littering and we are working with interested partners in business, councils and civil society to collaborate in tackling this problem.
	Addressing the litter problem begins at a local level and local authorities have a duty to keep their land clear of litter and refuse and have been given powers of enforcement, first through the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and more recently the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 to deal with offenders though either the courts or in issuing on the spot fines.
	Littering is a problem best managed locally. Local authorities and magistrates have the necessary legislation to enforce anti-litter policies. Councils can encourage local initiatives, such as the Campaign to Protect Rural England's 'Stop the Drop' campaign.

Pets: Animal Welfare

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the results of her Department's research project on electric pet training devices.

James Paice: The research project on electronic training devices is due to be completed and the report submitted to DEFRA by the end of November 2010. The results of the project will not be published until they have been peer-reviewed.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to ensure that UK standards on the welfare of chickens reared for meat production are maintained following the implementation of Council Directive 2007/43/EC; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: holding answer 13 July 2010
	Member states, including the UK, were required to bring in laws, regulations and administrative provisions to comply with Council Directive 2007/43/EC by 30 June 2010. Animal Health conduct random, targeted and risk based inspections of farmed premises to check the welfare of livestock and to ensure compliance with the regulations. Appropriate action will also be taken by Animal Health should welfare concerns be identified by the Food Standards Agency Operations Group (formally the Meat Hygiene Service).
	The European Commission has a system in place to ensure that Community legislation on animal welfare is properly implemented and enforced. This includes a planned programme of visits by the Food and Veterinary Office to member states under the meat chicken directive.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Corruption

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been provided to fund the City of London Police Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit in each year since 2006; and what her plans are for the future of the unit and its funding.

Nick Herbert: The City of London Police Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit is funded by the Department for International Development and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The total funding is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Total  DfID contribution  BIS contribution 
			 2006-07 273,027 273,027 - 
			 2007-08 764,158 764,158 - 
			 2008-09 907,733 840,358 67,375 
			 2009-10 1,054,701 923,875 130,826 
		
	
	No decisions have been taken on the future of the unit and its funding.

Corruption

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place a copy of the Overseas Corruption Assessment drawn up by the City of London Police Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit in the Library.

Nick Herbert: The report in question is a police authored document and we do not therefore propose to lay a copy in the Library. The City of London police would however be happy to supply a copy to the right hon. Member or to brief him privately on the content.

Crime Prevention

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department plans to proceed with the Not in My Neighbourhood week scheme in  (a) 2010 and  (b) future years.

Nick Herbert: Not in My Neighbourhood Week will not take place in 2010. Plans for future years are under review.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will take steps to ensure that Parliament Square is kept free of demonstrators on parliamentary sitting days; what recent representations she has received on this issue; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on the policing of the demonstration held in Parliament Square on 2 July 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: We are reviewing the law governing protests in and around Parliament Square.
	The Government will continue their discussions with the Greater London Authority, Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police, the Speaker and other interested parties on how to support peaceful protest while preventing criminal activity and securing enjoyment and use of the Square for all.
	The responsibility for managing Parliament Square Garden rests with the Greater London Authority (GLA) under the GLA Act 1999. The Mayor of London has taken action in the High Court to deal with the current encampment on Parliament Square Garden. This matter remains before the courts.

Departmental Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many buildings her Department occupies in  (a) London and  (b) the UK.

Nick Herbert: The Department excluding its Executive agencies mainly occupies one building in central London and has minor occupations in three others. It occupies 12 others outside London. Proposals to vacate buildings are under consideration.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of her Department's expenditure on  (a) organisation of and  (b) attendance at conferences in each year since 1997.

Nick Herbert: Expenditure incurred on the organisation of and attendance at conferences cannot be identified separately without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Department has recorded conference-related expenditure on its accounting systems and these are set out in the table. This includes conferences organised and funded by the Home Office for partner bodies and the costs of conference attended by Home Office staff.
	
		
			   Conference costs (£000) 
			 2004-05 5,190 
			 2005-06 10,594 
			 2006-07 9,326 
			 2007-08 4,020 
			 2008-09 5,844 
			 2009-10 7,760 
		
	
	General and subsidiary ledgers produced for the purpose of preparing certified financial statements are not retained after a period of six years, in line with National Audit Office requirements. The Department does not hold the requested information for financial years before 2004-05.
	All expenditure on conference services is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Nick Herbert: Information on expenditure on television purchase since 1997 is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.

Departmental Lighting

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on light bulbs in each year since 1997.

Nick Herbert: Information on expenditure on light bulbs since 1997 is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.

Departmental Photographs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on official photographs of Ministers since the formation of the present administration.

Nick Herbert: Since the formation of the Government the Home Office has spent £1,000 on official photographs of Ministers. The fee was for hire of a professional photographer for two days to take photographs of Ministers for official use, including the Home Office website, documenting the Home Secretary's arrival at the Home Office, and the Home Secretary's first address to Home Office staff for the intranet.

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since 1997.

Nick Herbert: Security in the Home Office Group is embedded in its operations. The central unit responsible for oversight of security. The Departmental Security Unit, and the security units for the agencies provide central points of support and advice but much of the day to day work of security is done by local units under the guidance of their security liaison officers.
	It would be difficult to extract the costs of this work as it would involve examining the accounts of every unit in the Home Office Group. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Utilities

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since 1997.

Nick Herbert: The utility spend for Home Office HQ at 2 Marsham Street for the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Table A 
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Electricity 896,118 1,155,412 1,061,074 1,257,195 1,285,273 
			 Gas 75,159 74,869 66,484 122,735 80,914 
			 Water 92,586 92,438 102,778 116,307 123,951 
		
	
	Information on utilities spend for across the rest of the estate is not held centrally.
	The telephony spend for the Home Department and UKBA from available records is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Table B 
			  £ million 
			  Telephony  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Home Office 4.4 3.8 3.7 3.8 
			 UKBA - 12.0 11.7 10.6 
		
	
	UKBA telephony spend for 2006-07 is not available as it was consolidated within other costs and can not be individually identified. Telephony spend for other Home Office agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.

Hillsborough Stadium: Disclosure of Information

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date she expects the first documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster to be released by relevant Government Departments.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 8 July 2010
	The Hillsborough Independent Panel is overseeing the process for maximum public disclosure of documents relating to the Hillsborough stadium disaster. Government Departments are already working on the arrangements for identifying, cataloguing and reviewing these records.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has met recently with the Bishop of Liverpool in his capacity as chair of the independent panel and has given personal backing to the project.

Immigration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were given leave to enter the UK under the Post-Study Route of tier 1 of the points-based immigration system in each month since its introduction.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 July 2010
	The number of people given leave to enter the UK under the post-study route of tier 1 of the points-based immigration system is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Post-study route tier 1 
			   Endorsement  
			   Tier 1 (post study) main applicant  Tier 1 (post study) partner  Tier 1 (post study) child  Grand total 
			 April 2008 0 0 - 0 
			 May 2008 0 0 0 0 
			 June 2008 0 0 - 0 
			 July 2008 47 3 0 50 
			 August 2008 84 7 3 94 
			 September 2008 110 16 3 129 
			 October 2008 134 25 6 165 
			 November 2008 178 65 12 255 
			 December 2008 206 65 24 295 
			  
			 January 2009 319 101 27 447 
			 February 2009 375 133 38 546 
			 March 2009 372 127 39 538 
			 April 2009 298 122 31 451 
			 May 2009 338 187 71 596 
			 June 2009 378 172 43 593 
			 July 2009 299 161 46 506 
			 August 2009 355 106 37 498 
			 September 2009 395 141 38 574 
			 October 2009 422 222 89 733 
			 November 2009 379 239 86 704 
			 December 2009 314 183 41 538 
			  
			 January 2010 415 160 50 625 
			 February 2010 389 188 50 627 
			 March 2010 487 245 72 804 
			  
			 Grand total 6,294 2,668 806 9,768 
		
	
	The data in this table are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Police Community Support Officer: Redundancy

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the  (a) minimum and  (b) average redundancy costs in respect of a police community support officer whose services are no longer required.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 6 July 2010
	No such estimates have been made. It is an issue for each force to determine police staff redundancy costs. The redundancy terms are set out under the Local Government Pension Scheme (and Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme for the Metropolitan Police) and the associated compensation schemes.

Police Community Support Officers: Greater Manchester

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there are in  (a) Bolton and  (b) Greater Manchester.

Nick Herbert: Latest available data, as at 31 Match 2009, show that there were 67 police community support officers in Bolton (BCU) and 782 police community support officers in Greater Manchester police force.

Police: Manpower

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the effects on the number of  (a) police officers,  (b) community police officers and  (c) other front line staff in the Northumbria police force of the reduction in the force's funding for 2010-11.

Nick Herbert: Every force will face a cut equivalent to the same percentage (under 1.5%) of the core funding they receive from central Government.
	These proposed reductions should not impact on the frontline. Decisions about the number of police officers, police community support officers and other police staff engaged by the police remain a matter for each chief constable and the police authority, but we have made it clear that the frontline should remain strong and secure and we expect police authorities to look at how they spend their money and ensure that they are delivering a cost effective service to achieve this.

Police: VAT

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the financial effects on police forces of the proposed increase in the standard rate of value added tax in 2011;
	(2)  how much value added tax was paid by police forces in the latest year for which figures are available.

Nick Herbert: We do not hold information centrally on how much police forces pay in VAT.

Speed Limits: Fines

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fines for speeding offences have been  (a) issued by each police force in the East of England region in each year since 1997 and  (b) how many such fines have been paid by residents of Norwich South constituency in each such year.

Nick Herbert: Data showing the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police in the East of England region from 1997 to 2008 (latest available), broken down by police force area, are provided in table A.
	Additionally, data on the number of court fines for speeding, provided by the Ministry of Justice, are provided in table B.
	The data on fines reported to the Home Office and Ministry of Justice do not include information on the persons paying the fines; therefore it is not possible to identify the number of fines paid by residents of the Norwich South constituency.
	
		
			  Table A: Number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences, by police force area, East of England region 1997-2007( 1) 
			  Police force area  1997  1 998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Bedfordshire 8,700 10,255 18,008 16,707 13,415 40,338 66,709 56,762 44,736 48,407 30,029 19,884 
			 Cambridgeshire 14,837 13,818 14,562 8,708 6,777 15,435 28,510 19,802 44,997 20,502 25,371 22,548 
			 Essex 48,123 19,282 38,097 56,010 87,038 101,063 66,281 68,852 85,745 60,705 44,796 25,956 
			 Hertfordshire 17,604 14,063 25,687 23,956 23,474 23,203 28,696 61,637 49,738 81,805 41,593 34,945 
			 Norfolk 4,895 5,379 9,267 4,783 5,166 17,116 31,640 26,938 25,117 24,985 24,878 20,359 
			 Suffolk 7,271 12,640 18,088 12,596 12,416 9,477 16,606 40,847 40,029 34,442 30,378 34,678 
			 Total East of England 101,430 75,437 123,709 122,760 148,286 206,632 238,442 274,838 290,362 270,846 197,045 158,370 
			 (1) Includes only FPNs issued and paid. Where penalties are not paid and are referred to court, they are no longer recorded as FPNs. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: The number of fines imposed at all courts in the East of England Government Office Region, by police force area, for speed limit offences( 1) , from 1997 to 2008( 2,3) 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Bedfordshire 1,024 3,431 1,913 2,019 2,332 1,551 3,521 1,171 4,507 4,353 4,239 2,530 
			 Cambridgeshire 4,930 3,126 2,647 1,625 756 521 1,163 1,754 2,191 3,466 4,181 4,103 
			 Essex 5,035 4,743 6,619 6,275 9,132 14,570 9,263 8,292 9,961 7,688 7,247 5,355 
			 Hertfordshire 2,115 2,838 2,771 2,277 2,088 2,334 2,167 1,806 2,990 2,915 2,525 2,409 
			 Norfolk 1,215 1,372 1,679 1,374 1,449 1,269 2,372 2,764 2,824 3,453 2,669 2,579 
			 Suffolk 1,041 1,456 1,648 1,210 1,236 1,266 763 1,820 3,213 3,035 3,401 3,561 
			 Total 15,360 16,966 17,277 14,780 16,993 21,511 19,249 17,607 25,686 24,910 24,262 20,537 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ss. 16. 81, 84. 86, 88 & 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limit on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926-byelaws made thereunder. (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Official Cars

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office has spent on the Government Car Service since the Government took office.

George Young: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 12 July 2010,  Official Report, column 598W.

Departmental Travel

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Leader of the House which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Office have been driven by the Government Car Service since the Government took office; and how much each of these persons has received in expenses for use of taxis, buses and underground trains in that period.

George Young: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 668W.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			   NFA( 1)  SFO( 2)  CPS( 3)  Tsol( 4) 
			 2001-02 - - - 154,000 
			 2002-03 - - - 36,000 
			 2003-04 - - 8,364,000 - 
			 2004-05 - - 7,327,000 - 
			 2005-06 - 180,578 4,402,000 - 
			 2006-07 - 1,041,957 6,251,000 - 
			 2007-08 - 1,534,458 4,724,000 2,774,000 
			 2008-09 - 1,132,476 5,173,000 39,000 
			 2009-10 34,770 52,008 10,293,000 - 
			 (1) The National Fraud Authority shared premises with HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in 2008-09 and had no refurbishment costs during this period. (2) 2005-06 was the first year that money was spent on refurbishment and the figures include all capital expenditure. (3) The figures from 2005-06 onwards include costs for the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service (RCPO)-who merged with the CPS on 1 January 2010. The data is taken from the Financial Management System and is only available from 2003-04 onwards, data for earlier years could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. The data for 2009-10 are subject to audit. (4) The data includes TSol, AGO and HMCPSI. Figures prior to 2001-02 are not retained and could be determined only at a disproportionate cost. In May 2007 the Attorney-General's Office was relocated as the lease on its accommodation had ended. The expenditure in 2007-08 reflects the cost of fitting out the new accommodation.

Departmental Marketing

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency spent on logo design in each year since 1997.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is as follows.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) merged on 1 January 2010.
	Expenditure on logos in both organisations since 1997 was as follows:
	2006-07: £5,950-redesign cost of the CPS logo.
	2005-06: £8,594-total cost of the RCPO logo. This figure represents the full cost for the design and implementation of the logo, which took place at the new organisation's inception. A breakdown of this figure to provide solely the design costs is not available.
	TSol redesigned its logo in 2004-05. The total cost was £20,000.
	Since 1997 the Serious Fraud Office has spent £16,290 on branding exercises.
	Since launching in 2008-09, the National Fraud Authority spent £38,290 in 2008-09, and £38,024 in 2009-10 on logo design. The expenditure incurred in 2008-09 was for the design and development of the National Fraud Strategic Authority (NFSA) brand, including logo design. The expenditure in 2009-10 includes rebranding to the National Fraud Authority (logo development and office branding), and development of the Action Fraud logo.
	The Attorney-General's office and HMCPSI have incurred no external design expenditure on logo design.

Departmental Official Cars

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments have spent on the Government car service since the Government took office.

Dominic Grieve: Since the Government took office, the Crown Prosecution Service has spent £14,858.21 on the Government car service.
	Treasury Solicitor's have made payments of £22,985 to the Government car service between May 6 and 30 June. This includes the costs incurred by the Attorney-General's Office.
	The SFO, HMCPSI and NFA do not use the Government car service.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency spent on employee awaydays in each year since 1997.

Dominic Grieve: Information relating to the Law Officer's departments is as follows.
	The National Fraud Authority (NFA) spent £5,100 on staff away day events during 2009-10. There was no expenditure in 2008-09 when the NFA was launched.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is a devolved organisation and local managers are responsible for arranging away days. Information on the number and costs of away days that took place outside CPS buildings attended by civil servants is not recorded centrally. To obtain the information requested would require all managers to review financial records since 2003 (our financial systems can only go that far back) and would incur disproportionate cost.
	The following information is available for away days relating to the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) who merged with the CPS on 1 January 2010:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 6,159 
			 2006-07 15,092 
			 2007-08 27,401 
			 2008-09 77,581 
			 2009-10 18,468 
			 2009-10 (1)- 
			 (1) Amounts are still subject to audit. 
		
	
	The Serious Fraud Office holds workshops and conferences which relate directly to business priorities and strategy. Participation and contribution by staff is required. The cost for such events is not recorded separately from other conference events, the total cost for which is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 1997-98 5,973 
			 1998-99 10,517 
			 1999-2000 13,596 
			 2000-01 24,525 
			 2001-02 55,260 
			 2002-03 45,181 
			 2003-04 19,170 
			 2004-05 78,800 
			 2005-06 42,295 
			 2006-07 79,675 
			 2007-08 28,628 
			 2008-09 36,977 
			 2009-10 26,956 
		
	
	It is not possible to separately identify the amount spent by the Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Inspectorate on staff away days from other expenditure on training and organising and attending conferences without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Utilities

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since 1997.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is outlined as follows.
	Spending on these utilities by the SFO is outlined in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			  SFO( 1)  Electricity  Water  Heating  Telephones 
			 1997-98 64,844 6,580 6,206 90,272 
			 1998-99 58,443 5,132 5,531 98,417 
			 1999-2000 63,007 3,427 6,391 93,376 
			 2000-01 53,988 3,001 9,987 81,695 
			 2001-02 72,433 3,914 9,581 156,693 
			 2002-03 66,120 2,456 14,821 121,703 
			 2003-04 66,486 3,777 9,928 141,520 
			 2004-05 83,649 4,722 16,501 148,271 
			 2005-06 135,178 4,778 18,162 257,845 
			 2006-07 397,586 4,732 29,525 259,389 
			 2007-08 168,498 2,884 18,335 284,204 
			 2008-09 243,729 4,747 48,117 302,833 
			 2009-10 284,351 3,430 24,909 299,944 
			 (1) The NFA collocated with the Serious Fraud Office in its office at Gray's Inn Road in 2009-10 and all NFA costs for utilities, are accounted for in the SFO's 2009-10 figure. Additionally NFA spent £2,039 on the procurement of mobile/blackberry and 3G services. 
		
	
	The amount spent by the Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate for each year is shown as follows. The figures prior to 1998-99 are not retained on the Department's accounting system, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate was not included within the Department until mid-2001.
	The National Fraud Authority shared premises with HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in 2008-09 and all utilities were paid for by the inspectorate.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Electricity  Water  Gas Heating  Telephone services 
			 1997-98 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998-99 39.7 4.69 14.1 148.0 
			 1999-2000 54.1 26.7 16.6 160.9 
			 2000-01 52.5 18.7 18.5 184.0 
			 2001-02 72.6 18.4 28.1 331.9 
			 2002-03 63.4 19.5 36.2 232.2 
			 2003-04 86.6 17.7 40.6 341.5 
			 2004-05 92.7 16.3 65.7 329.3 
			 2005-06 144.5 15.1 28.8 403.5 
			 2006-07 169.9 7.7 30.7 399.6 
			 2007-08 185.4 7.1 7.5 429.7 
			 2008-09 326.8 2.0 30.4 416.7 
			 2009-10 420.4 3.6 21.0 503.5 
		
	
	The following tables show the amounts for electricity, water and gas (the gas and electricity would form part of the heating charges) and telephone services incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). They also show the amount spent on telephone services and utilities by the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service (RCPO)-who merged with the CPS on 1 January 2010. The data are taken from the financial management system and are only available for 2003-04 onwards. RCPO expenditure for 2009-10 is included in the CPS totals for that year.
	
		
			  CPS 
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			  Telephone services  
			 2003-04 5.342 
			 2004-05 5.818 
			 2005-06 6.479 
			 2006-07 6.068 
			 2007-08 6.759 
			 2008-09 6.902 
			 2009-10 6.669 
			   
			  Electricity  
			 2003-04 0.944 
			 2004-05 1.117 
			 2005-06 1.484 
			 2006-07 1.436 
			 2007-08 1.433 
			 2008-09 1.722 
			 2009-10 2.094 
			   
			  Water  
			 2003-04 0.162 
			 2004-05 0.163 
			 2005-06 0.224 
			 2006-07 0.245 
			 2007-08 0.228 
			 2008-09 0.237 
			 2009-10 0.166 
			   
			  Gas  
			 2003-04 0.182 
			 2004-05 0.207 
			 2005-06 0.269 
			 2006-07 0.253 
			 2007-08 0.202 
			 2008-09 0.330 
			 2009-10 0.234 
		
	
	
		
			  RCPO 
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			  Utilities  
			 2005-06 0.000 
			 2006-07 0.019 
			 2007-08 0.110 
			 2008-09 0.126 
			 2009-10 0.006 
			   
			  Telephone services  
			 2005-06 0.005 
			 2006-07 0.029 
			 2007-08 0.017 
			 2008-09 0.088 
			 2009-10 0.049 
		
	
	During 2005-06 RCPO utilities were not reported separately from the main rental payment to HMRC-hence no expenditure is shown for this year. The 2009-10 figures are subject to audit.

Written Questions: Expenditure

Grahame Morris: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of answering Questions 7474, 7498, 7580, 7599, 7618, 7637, 7329, 7348, 7366, 7417, 7436, 7455 and 7310, tabled on 8 July 2010 by the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans) for written answer.

Dominic Grieve: The Treasury produces regular estimates of the average cost of answering a written parliamentary question. The estimated figure was last updated to £154 in January 2010 and Parliament was notified in a written statement issued by the former Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Sarah McCarthy-Fry), on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.
	Estimating the exact costs of producing individual PQ answers is very difficult, although it is fair to say that in the case of most of the above questions the average cost has almost certainly been exceeded, and in a few cases may be approaching the upper disproportionate cost threshold limit of £800. All of these questions requested a large amount of factual information, none of which was stored centrally and thus required a coordinated information gathering exercise across the Law Officers Departments.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: The Department has spent the following on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 243,000 
			 2000-01 0 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 0 
			 2003-04 0 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-09 0 
			 2006-07 8,700,000 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 40,625 
		
	
	We do not hold figures prior to 1999.
	Information on the amount spent by the DCMS agency and arm's length bodies is held by them and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: Between financial years 2005-06 and 2009-10, the following amounts were spent on televisions at this Department:
	
		
			  Expenditure on TVs 
			  £ 
			 2005-06 (1)3,231 
			 2006-07 2,153 
			 2007-08 7,023 
			 2008-09 1,295 
			 2009-10 1,796 
			 (1) This amount includes a flat screen television, stand, protective screen and case. It is not possible to separate the cost of each item.  Note: Information prior to 2005-06 is not available. 
		
	
	Information on the amount spent by the DCMS agency and arm's length bodies is held by them and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Lighting

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on light bulbs in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: The Department does not directly purchase light bulbs. The replacement of light bulbs is included in the Department's facilities management contract and it is not possible to disaggregate the cost.
	Information on the amount spent by the DCMS agency and arm's length bodies is held by them and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Photographs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on official photographs of Ministers since the formation of the present Administration.

John Penrose: In the first week of the current Administration's tenure, the Department commissioned a photographer to take official photographs of new Ministers and a range of additional images for use on the DCMS website and in communication materials, at a cost of £600.
	We keep photography costs to a minimum and wherever possible departmental staff take photographs at no cost, or we use cost-free images.

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: The Department has spent the following on security in each year since 2007:
	
		
			  Financial year  Spend on security (£) 
			 2009-10 357,762 
			 2008-09 360,262 
			 2007-08 413,780 
		
	
	We do not hold figures for preceding years.
	Information on the amount spent by the DCMS agency and arm's length bodies is held by them and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on travel for employees in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's Travel and Subsistence guidance and is consistent with the Civil Service Management Code.
	The following table outlines this Department's expenditure on travel since 1997:
	
		
			  Financial Year  Total (£) 
			 2009-10 260,269 
			 2008-09 380,209 
			 2007-08 414,290 
			 2006-07 491,452 
			 2005-06 580,749 
			 2004-05 446,211 
			 2003-04 429,849 
			 2002-03 444,245 
			 2001-02 375,368 
			 2000-01 335,577 
			 1999-2000 335,068 
			 1998-97 232,160 
			 1997-98 242,937 
		
	
	Information on the amount spent by the DCMS agency and arm's length bodies is held by them and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Historic Buildings: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2010,  Official Report, column 16W, on Coventry Market, when he plans to make a final decision.

John Penrose: holding answer 12 July 2010
	I am sorry I was unable to make a decision before the date stated in the previous answer. I will make a decision on this by the end of July.

National Lottery

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to what good causes National Lottery funding went in the first year after the lottery was established.

John Penrose: holding answer 12 July 2010
	The National Lottery etc. Act 1993 established four good causes: arts, sport, national heritage and charitable expenditure which each received 20% of lottery proceeds. In addition to the four good causes a further 20% was assigned to projects to mark the year 2000 and the beginning of the third millennium. This ceased to receive income from the national lottery in 2001.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 16 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 819-20W.
	The amounts spent by the Department's agencies and non-departmental government bodies are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Consultants

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on consultancy fees in 2009.

Bob Neill: The Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent the following on consultancy in the financial year 2009-10:
	
		
			   2009-10 Spend (£) 
			 Communities 36,558,000 
			 Government Office Network 814,713 
			 Planning Inspectorate 330,231 
			 Fire Service College 225,953 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 96,744 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 4,567,963 
			 Ordnance Survey 2,184,819 
			 FireBuy 1,412,396 
			 Audit Commission 3,693,060 
			 Lease 45,399 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 180,095 
			 Tenant Service Authority 0 
			 Community Development Foundation 634,863 
			 Independent Housing Ombudsman 150,569 
			 Standards Board 202,577 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 7,616,590 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 4,755,364 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 3,175,816 
			 Total 66,645,151 
		
	
	These figures are from the 2009-10 Public Sector Procurement Expenditure Survey (PSPES) and reflect consultancy spend from the organisation under the definition of consultancy approved by the Office of Government Commerce.
	The Government have pledged to reduce consultancy spend across Government. The Department is committed to supporting this and has implemented a consultancy freeze across the Department, our agencies and non-departmental public bodies to release £5.8 million in 2010-11.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: Details of expenditure on televisions are not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on information and communication technology in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows total spend on information and communications technology for the last financial year for  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial year: 2009-10 
			   £ 
			 Communities and Local Government 128,299,000 
			 Government Office Network 12,515,023 
			 Planning Inspectorate 2,231,068 
			 Fire Service College 498,540 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 378,475 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 5,051,389 
			 Ordnance Survey 26,038,339 
			 FireBuy 166,892 
			 Audit Commission 5,069,631 
			 LEASE 43,073 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 399,981 
			 Tenant Service Authority 2,696,124 
			 Community Development Fund 197,773 
			 Housing Ombudsman 161,942 
			 Standards Board 652,167 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 289,226 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 459,547 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 306,590

Departmental Internet

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on website design in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: Details of expenditure on website design are not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Lighting

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on light bulbs in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: Details of expenditure on light bulbs are not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East of 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 173W, on departmental mobile phones, what the  (a) purchase cost of the handset,  (b) network provider,  (c) type of tariff and  (d) name of the supplier is of the BlackBerry device issued to each Minister in his Department.

Bob Neill: holding answer 24 June 2010
	Three Ministers are currently using BlackBerrys of different models issued by the Department. Two were provided under the terms of the Department contract with Orange Ltd who supply the devices and provide the network and are Model 8310. The third device-Model 9700 is currently on trial-cost £314 (excluding VAT). Each of the three devices has a tariff of £14.50 (excluding VAT) each month. All are compliant with the Government's mandatory security settings.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on hospitality in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows the amounts spent on food by  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. These figures are taken from the Public Sector Procurement Expenditure Survey (PSPES). There is no category for hospitality within the survey. Figures for earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  2009-10  £ 
			 Communities and Local Government 106,616 
			 Government Office Network 190,691 
			 Planning Inspectorate 52,850 
			 Fire Service College 0 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 0 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 84,938 
			 Ordnance Survey 0 
			 FireBuy 1,359 
			 Audit Commission 104,852 
			 LEASE 745 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 19,740 
			 Tenant Service Authority 0 
			 Community Development Fund 0 
			 Housing Ombudsman 2,942 
			 Standards Board 0 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 10,725 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 2,016 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 0

Departmental Public Expenditure

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether equality impact assessments will be used in determining the areas of his Department's budget in respect of which spending will be reduced.

Bob Neill: Yes, we will be following spending review guidance issued by the Government Equalities Office to ensure that decisions give due consideration to any disproportionate impact on women, disabled people and ethnic minorities.

Departmental Regulation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's regulations are under review; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: The Department is reviewing all regulation in the pipeline for implementation inherited from the previous Administration. This is in line with the cross Government action plan for reducing regulation launched by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills on 3 June.
	I am also reviewing the secondary legislation, statutory guidance and regulation sponsored by this Department already on the statute. The direction of travel on the first 11 pieces of secondary legislation was published on 7 July 2010 and is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/doc/1633576.doc
	Copies have also been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows total spend on security for the last financial year for  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  2009-10 
			   £ 
			 Communities and Local Government 850,890 
			 Government Office Network 36,117 
			 Planning Inspectorate 10,519 
			 Fire Service College 1,905 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 594,095 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 4,265,192 
			 Ordnance Survey 0 
			 FireBuy 0 
			 Audit Commission 0 
			 LEASE 179 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 3,918 
			 Tenant Service Authority 0 
			 Community Development Fund 3,459 
			 Housing Ombudsman 1,740 
			 Standards Board 5,287 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 0 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 22,829 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 0

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Bob Neill: There is one dedicated full-time member of departmental staff employed to write speeches. A small number of other officials periodically draft content for ministerial speeches.
	For context, three dedicated speechwriters were employed between 2004-09 and two dedicated speechwriters were employed in 2009-10.
	No special advisers are employed by the Department specifically to write speeches.

Departmental Stationery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on stationery in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows the total spent on stationery (eg office supplies and consumables) for the last financial year for  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  2009-10  Total (£) 
			 Communities and Local Government 480,180 
			 Government Office Network 162,784 
			 Planning Inspectorate 159,495 
			 Fire Service College 25,696 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 0 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 30,482 
			 Ordnance Survey 9,736 
			 FireBuy 7,953 
			 Audit Commission 0 
			 LEASE 6,037 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 36,710 
			 Tenant Service Authority 111,280 
			 Community Development Fund 68,211 
			 Housing Ombudsman 11,733 
			 Standards Board 18,004 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 32,868 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 23,441 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 43,870 
			 Total 1,228,481

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee awaydays in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: Details of employee awaydays are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on the future of the FiReControl project;
	(2)  what steps he has put in place to ensure that the FiReControl project is delivered on time and on budget.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 June 2010,  Official Report, column 526W, to the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham).

Fire Services

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were rescued from fires by each fire and rescue service in England between April 2009 and March 2010; and how many were  (a) injured or  (b) unharmed.

Bob Neill: The numbers of people who were rescued from fires by each Fire and Rescue Service in England are shown in the table for the six-month period April to September 2009. Data to March 2010 will be available by the end of August.
	
		
			   Rescued, injured and went to hospital  Rescued, first aid given at scene  Rescued, precautionary check recommended  Rescued (rescue without injury)  Total 
			 Avon 6 2 0 26 34 
			 Bedfordshire 9 0 0 16 25 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 1 1 18 22 
			 Cheshire 4 1 0 9 14 
			 Cleveland 7 2 4 9 22 
			 Cornwall 2 1 0 10 13 
			 Cumbria 5 1 0 13 19 
			 Derbyshire 4 0 1 9 14 
			 Devon and Somerset 8 4 1 28 41 
			 Dorset 2 3 0 8 13 
			 Durham 3 1 0 7 11 
			 East Sussex 1 1 1 13 16 
			 Essex 3 4 0 8 15 
			 Gloucestershire 4 1 0 8 13 
			 Greater Manchester 10 8 2 12 32 
			 Hampshire 9 10 6 28 53 
			 Hereford and Worcester 1 0 0 7 8 
			 Hertfordshire 4 3 2 8 17 
			 Humberside 13 2 5 12 32 
			 Isle of Wight 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Kent 13 0 6 18 37 
			 Lancashire 15 6 3 14 38 
			 Leicestershire 8 0 0 12 20 
			 Lincolnshire 2 0 6 1 9 
			 London 75 20 13 189 297 
			 Merseyside 12 2 0 22 36 
			 Norfolk 8 3 1 13 25 
			 North Yorkshire 4 2 2 2 10 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 0 5 6 
			 Northumberland 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 9 5 8 24 46 
			 Oxfordshire 2 3 0 8 13 
			 Royal Berkshire 3 1 2 20 26 
			 Shropshire 3 1 0 8 12 
			 South Yorkshire 8 0 2 36 46 
			 Staffordshire 8 3 0 18 29 
			 Suffolk 2 1 1 9 13 
			 Surrey 2 1 0 12 15 
			 Tyne and Wear 15 6 9 21 51 
			 Warwickshire 6 1 0 6 13 
			 West Midlands 11 11 13 22 57 
			 West Sussex 4 2 4 2 12 
			 West Yorkshire 24 6 0 35 65 
			 Wiltshire 4 0 1 5 10 
			 England (excluding Buckinghamshire) 338 119 94 755 1,306 
			 n/a = not available  Notes: 1. Where a person having no obvious injury is taken to hospital for a precautionary check or advised to seek medical advice, whether or not they actually go. 2. Data for Greater Manchester available incomplete.

Fire Services: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on funding for fire and rescue services of the two-year freeze of council tax rates; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The Government intend to freeze council tax in England for one year, and seek to freeze it for a further year, in partnership with local government. Authorities which choose to freeze or reduce their council tax in 2011-12 will receive a grant, additional to the formula grant, which is equivalent to a council tax increase up to a specified level. Further details will be announced in due course.

Fire Services: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the income of each fire and rescue authority in England was from  (a) central Government grant,  (b) council tax and  (c) other sources in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The proportion of the income from central government grant, council tax and other sources for each Fire and Rescue Authority in England in 2008-09 is in the following tabled.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Central government grant  Council tax  Other sources 
			 Greater Manchester Fire and CD Authority 64.4 34.0 1.6 
			 Merseyside Fire and CD Authority 62.0 34.4 3.7 
			 South Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 60.8 36.1 3.0 
			 Tyne and Wear Fire and CD Authority 59.4 35.4 5.1 
			 West Midlands Fire and CD Authority 66.6 29.7 3.7 
			 West Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 62.9 36.3 0.7 
			 Avon Combined Fire Authority 56.0 42.5 1.5 
			 Bedfordshire Combined Fire Authority 40.4 57.2 2.4 
			 Berkshire Combined Fire Authority 47.0 51.8 1.2 
			 Buckinghamshire Combined Fire Authority 41.5 53.3 5.2 
			 Cambridgeshire Combined Fire Authority 47.5 51.0 1.5 
			 Cheshire Combined Fire Authority 43.1 55.4 1.5 
			 Cleveland Combined Fire Authority 67.7 30.2 2.1 
			 Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority 46.8 51.5 1.7 
			 Devon and Somerset Combined Fire Authority 47.8 48.6 3.6 
			 Dorset Combined Fire Authority 37.7 50.0 12.3 
			 Durham Combined Fire Authority 47.0 52.8 0.3 
			 East Sussex Combined Fire Authority 37.6 61.2 1.1 
			 Essex Combined Fire Authority 44.2 54.2 1.6 
			 Hampshire Combined Fire Authority 44.2 53.8 2.1 
			 Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire Authority 37.5 59.0 3.5 
			 Humberside Combined Fire Authority 53.9 44.1 1.9 
			 Kent Combined Fire Authority 42.1 52.9 5.0 
			 Lancashire Combined Fire Authority 53.8 44.3 1.9 
			 Leicestershire Combined Fire Authority 55.0 43.9 1.1 
			 North Yorkshire Combined Fire Authority 43.7 55.4 0.8 
			 Nottinghamshire Combined Fire Authority 49.0 45.0 6.0 
			 Shropshire Combined Fire Authority 37.1 59.6 3.3 
			 Staffordshire Combined Fire Authority 43.4 55.0 1.6 
			 Wiltshire Combined Fire Authority 39.9 58.5 1.6 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government revenue outturn (RO) returns and capital outturn (CO) returns 
		
	
	Figures for the remaining 16 authorities responsible for fire services are not available as their revenue support grant is unhypothecated and it is therefore not possible to identify the fire service elements.
	The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates), specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services), specific and special revenue grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), area based grant (ABG) and expenditure financed by capital grants from central government.
	The definition of council tax used here includes council taxes financed from council tax benefit grant but excludes council taxes financed from local authority contributions to council tax benefit.
	'Other sources' is defined as sum of interest and investment income - external receipts and dividends, sales fees and charges and in-year capital receipts. This excludes 'other income' as reported by local authorities on the Revenue Outturn (RO) returns as this includes internal recharges, which distorts the comparative figures on income.

Fire Services: Standards

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on national standards for fire cover in England; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The Government have no plans to restore national standards of fire cover in England.
	The Government are committed to enabling local authorities and local communities to make appropriate decisions at the local level. Fire and rescue authorities are required to produce and to regularly update an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) which identifies and assesses local need and sets out plans to mitigate effectively both existing and potential risks to communities.
	Each fire and rescue authority's IRMP enables that individual local authority to decide how best to provide fire and rescue-related services, including prevention and protection, as well as response, with resources being allocated on the basis of the evaluation of risk and where the risks are greatest.
	Local requirements are thus determined by local people according to local circumstances.

Fire Services: Standards

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance his Department has issued to fire authorities on  (a) firefighter training,  (b) recording non-fatal injuries and  (c) equipment procurement.

Bob Neill: The most recent guidance issued for these areas by my Department to fire and rescue authorities is as follows: training guidance relating to breathing apparatus published on 23 March 2009 and a training package on timber framed buildings, issued as part of a Fire and Rescue Service Circular (FRS 38/2009) on the 1 July 2009; and the National Procurement Strategy for the Fire and Rescue Service in England 2009-12, published on 7 August 2009. No guidance on recording non-fatal injuries has been issued since 2007.

Housing: Planning

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has put in place sanctions for councils that do not assess levels of housing need in their area; and whether his Department has established incentives for councils to undertake such an assessment.

Grant Shapps: Local planning authorities are best placed to determine the right level of local housing provision for their area. They should justify their decisions on local housing need and defend them during the development plan examination process in line with the policy set out in "Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing". We are committed to increasing housing supply and seeing more of the homes that people want, in the places that people want them, to meet Britain's housing need. The coalition agreement set out our clear intention to provide incentives for local authorities to deliver sustainable development, including new homes and business. More details will be announced shortly.

Local Government Executive

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to allocate planning functions to the elected executive of local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: At present we have no specific plans to make any changes to how local planning authorities divide the exercising of their planning functions between elected members and officers. These are matters for each local planning authority to decide, and to set out in their individual schemes of delegation.

Local Government Finance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable he has set for the review of local government finance.

Bob Neill: The Communities and Local Government Structural Reform Plan, published on 8 July 2010, sets a start date of summer 2011 for the local government resource review. The review will end in 2012.

Local Government Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that those most in need are not affected by the effects of the reduction in his Department's expenditure announced in the written ministerial statement on 10 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 15-18WS, on the local government savings package; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 16-17WS, on the local government savings package, if he will undertake an impact assessment of the in-year reduction to grant funding for local authorities.

Bob Neill: We have asked local authorities to make a contribution of £1.166 billion to the £6.2 billion of cross-Government savings in 2010-11 to enable the Government to take immediate action to start to tackle the fiscal deficit. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear in his written ministerial statement that we have taken action to provide the flexibility needed to allow local authorities the freedom to make their own decisions about where savings are found without impacting on essential frontline services. We have adopted a fair approach to the reductions in grants and funding streams and have limited the amount individual authorities lose. The impact on their area of the reductions in grants this year will be for local authorities to decide.

Non-domestic Rates

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the observations by the then Secretary of State of 7 April 2010 on the petition of persons concerned by the increase in business rates,  Official Report, columns 42-3P, what the Government's policy is on increases to business rates; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Increases in business rates bills are capped each year by the RPI inflation rate. In addition, we are doubling the level of small business rate relief in England for one year, from 1 October 2010.

EDUCATION

Academies: GCSE

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of students at each academy school obtained five GCSEs at grade A* to C in each year since it was established; and what the equivalent figure was in respect of each academy school's predecessor school in each year between 1995 and its reconstitution as an academy school.

Nick Gibb: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Children: Protection

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from childcare professionals on his proposal to publish serious case reviews.

Tim Loughton: The coalition programme for government launched on 20 May confirmed the Government's commitment to publishing serious case reviews with identifying details removed. The Government's aim in doing so is to restore public confidence and improve transparency in the child protection system, and to ensure that the context in which the events occurred is properly understood so relevant lessons are learned and applied as widely as possible.
	According to our records, by 15 June, the Secretary of State had received one representation from the Victoria Climbié Foundation supporting this commitment. Since becoming Secretary of State, he has received no other representations on this subject from child care professionals.

Departmental Property

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from the Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Tim Loughton: A breakdown of reported lost or stolen property from the Department for Education in the last 12 month period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 is as follows:
	
		
			   Lost (a)  Stolen (b)  Total  Total estimated cost of replacement (£) 
			 Laptops 1 6 7 6692.00 
			 Blackberry 15 6 21 1239.00 
			 Memory stick 8 - 8 1088.00 
			 Staff passes 76 12 88 454.96 
			 Total9473.96

Free Schools

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria will be used by the New Schools Network in deciding which applications for free schools merit consideration by his Department.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education is reviewing all proposals on receipt to decide whether each section of each proposal form is sufficiently developed and substantial enough to make full assessment worthwhile. The New Schools Network are helping the Department at this stage, providing advice based on their work with proposers. The full assessment process, conducted by the Department, will look at whether a proposal form could lead to an acceptable business case and plan for a school that Ministers will accept based on the criteria published at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/freeschools/frequently-asked-questions#r1

GCSE: Languages

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to increase the number of secondary school pupils studying for a GCSE in a modern European language.

Nick Gibb: We are currently considering our priorities for the national curriculum, including what subjects it should cover. We will be announcing our plans in due course.

Pupils: Health

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to encourage schools to allow the wearing of medical bracelets by pupils diagnosed with  (a) diabetes and  (b) allergies; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: It is for governing bodies to set their own policies on managing the medical conditions of their pupils. We trust schools to make sensible arrangements where pupils and parents have requested that they or their child be allowed to wear medical bracelets.

Schools: Admissions

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of pupils  (a) with and  (b) without special educational needs expected to enter year (i) one, (ii) seven and (iii) 12 in each local authority area (A) in 2011-12 and (B) 2014-15; how many (1) mainstream and (2) special school places were available in each of those year groups in each local authority area on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: The responsibility for planning future educational provision in a local authority area rests with each individual local authority. However the Department has made national projections and these are summarised in the following table.
	
		
			  Mainstream state funded and special schools: full time and part time pupils with special educational needs: Coverage: England- Position at January 
			Actual  Projections 
			   2010  2012  2015 
			  Pupils aged five and rising five:
			 Total number of pupils 765,000 803,000 851,000 
			 Number of pupils without SEN 643,000 675,000 715,000 
			 Number of pupils with SEN; with or without Statements 122,000 128,000 136,000 
			 Percentage of pupils with SEN 15.9 15.9 15.9 
			  Pupils aged 11:
			 Total number of pupils 563,000 542,000 548,000 
			 Number of pupils without SEN 417,000 402,000 406,000 
			 Number of pupils with SEN; with or without Statements 146,000 140,000 142,000 
			 Percentage of pupils with SEN 25.9 25.9 25.9 
			  Pupils aged 16:
			 Total number of pupils 222,000 - - 
			 Number of pupils without SEN 197,000 - - 
			 Number of pupils with SEN; with or without Statements 26,000 - - 
			 Percentage of pupils with SEN 11.6 - - 
			  Pupils of all ages:  - - 
			 Total number of pupils 7,506,000 - - 
			 Number of pupils without SEN 5,881,000 - - 
			 Number of pupils with SEN; with or without Statements 1,625,000 - - 
			 Percentage of pupils with SEN 21.6 - - 
			  Notes: 1. Actual numbers for January 2010 are sourced from data collected via the School Census. 2. Projections are derived by applying the proportion of pupils with SEN in 2010 to future years' pupil projections. 3. Includes pupils with sole and dual registration. 4. No pupil projections are available after 2011 for post 16 year-olds. 5. Mainstream state funded schools comprise maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools; academies and city technology colleges. 6. Rising 5s are those pupils aged four at the previous 31 August who become five by 31 December. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand for pupils and percentages to one decimal place.

Schools: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to prevent bullying and intimidation of Jewish children in schools; what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Jewish community on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The coalition Government have made tackling all forms of bullying, particularly bullying motivated by prejudice, one of its top priorities. It is not acceptable for a child to be victimised because of their race or religion.
	The Government will bring forward measures to strengthen the authority of teachers to enforce discipline and promote good behaviour. The Government support head teachers in taking a zero-tolerance approach to bad behaviour and bullying.
	The Secretary of State is due to meet the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Chief Rabbi on 15 July and the Community Security Trust on 22 July. These discussions will cover a range of issues including the safety and security of Jewish pupils.

Schools: Medicine

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the revised guidance on managing medicines in schools will be published; and by what mechanisms that guidance will be publicised to teachers.

Nick Gibb: We are currently considering our approach to managing medicines in schools, and in particular what guidance would be helpful for schools. We will provide more information on this when we are in a position to do so.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for state-funded schools to be involved in commissioning child and adolescent mental health services at a local level.

Sarah Teather: When health and local authority commissioners are planning services to meet the mental health needs of children and young people locally they will want to consider the right way to engage with schools so as to get the best possible services to children and families. Schools are also able to use their own budgets to provide services to meet the needs of their pupils, including services to support pupil's emotional wellbeing and mental health.
	The national Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) programme was developed to test the effectiveness of evidence-based mental health support in schools for children, young people, and their families. Schools delivering TaMHS commission a range of service procured from voluntary (as well as statutory) sector providers to meet the particular needs of their pupils (e.g. counselling support for children struggling to cope following family breakdown or bereavement). For specialist mental health support for more severe problems, schools may wish to refer pupils to local specialist CAMHS.
	The learning from TaMHS on effective commissioning of emotional wellbeing and mental health support and joint working with CAMHS is being shared across schools this year.
	While programmes such as TaMHS have been testing what works in developing school based mental health support, any decision about whether to commission these services remains at the school's discretion.

Schools: Transport

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department collects data on the average time taken by children in year  (a) one,  (b) seven and  (c) 12 in each local authority to travel to school; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department collects data about pupil's usual modes of travel in the School Census but it does not collect information about the average time taken by children to travel to school.

Schools: Visits

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to require the Independent Schools Inspectorate to publish the reports of its unannounced visits to schools and to make such reports available on its website.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 July 2010
	 ISI rarely makes unannounced visits, as these are normally made in the light of information which suggests that some aspects of the independent schools standards are not being met. Reports from unannounced visits are not automatically published as they may contain sensitive information which could identify the complainant or the identity of members of staff or pupils. Any failures identified would be followed up with the school and if the inspection confirmed there were serious failures, a full inspection would take place leading to a published report.

Science: Education

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to ensure that school science departments work together with high technology employers in their areas.

Nick Gibb: The Government recognise the benefits to pupils' learning and future career aspirations that partnerships between school science departments and high technology employers can have. But it must be for schools to decide how they develop those relationships as they are best placed to know what is best for their pupils.
	There are Government supported programmes in place with which schools can choose to engage and which will help develop this type of relationship. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills currently supports the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Network (STEMNET), which links schools with enhancement and enrichment resources for STEM subjects. STEMNET helps forge links between schools and local employers with the aim of improving and enhancing young people's knowledge and experience of scientific subjects and careers.

Special Educational Needs

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many statements on special educational needs each local authority area has issued in each year since 1997.

Sarah Teather: Information on new statements of special educational needs issued by local authorities since 1997 is published on the DFE Research and Statistics Gateway in the following publications:
	For 1993-98, Table 9 of the Statistical Bulletin "Special Educational Needs in England: January 1999", available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000124/b12-1999.pdf
	For 1999-2001, Table 11 of the Statistical Bulletin "Special Educational Needs In England: January 2002", available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000367/index.shtml
	For, 2002-04, Table 16 of the Statistical First Release "Special Educational Needs in England January 2005", available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000584/index.shtml
	For 2005-08, Table 19 of the Statistical First Release "DCSF: Special Educational Needs in England: January 2009", available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000852/index.shtml
	Data on the number of new statements issued for the 2009 calendar year at local authority level is due to be published on 21 July 2010 as an addition to the Statistical First Release "Special Educational Needs in England: January 2010" at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000939/index.shtml

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) statemented and  (b) non-statemented pupils with special educational needs have been given (i) a fixed period exclusion and (ii) a permanent exclusion in each year since 1997.

Sarah Teather: Data on the special educational needs status of excluded pupils are collected at the time of exclusion. Information relating to the number of permanent exclusions by SEN status since 1997 is published in table 7 of the Statistical First Release published at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000860/index.shtml
	Data on fixed period exclusions were collected for the first time in 2003/04; in 2005/06 it was collected for secondary schools only. The available information relating to the number of fixed period exclusions (not the number of pupils) by SEN status between 2003/04 and 2006/07 is published in table 8 of the Statistical First Release published at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml
	The number of fixed period exclusions by SEN status for 2007/08 is available in table 8a of the Statistical First Release published at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000860/index.shtml
	Some analysis has been carried out for 2007/08 on the number of excluded pupil enrolments, as shown in the table. A pupil's SEN status can change between periods of exclusion; therefore data relating to the SEN status of excluded pupil enrolments has been based on their SEN status at the time of their most recent fixed period or permanent exclusion. To carry out this analysis for further years would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3)  number and percentage of pupil enrolments receiving one or more fixed period exclusions or a permanent exclusion by special educational needs (SEN) England, 2007/08 (estimates)( 4) 
			   One or more fixed period exclusions  Permanent exclusion( 4) 
			   Number of pupil enrolments  Percentage of school population( 5)  Number of pupil enrolments  Percentage of school population( 5) 
			 Statement of SEN(6) 17,970 8.42 700 0.33 
			 SEN without a statement(6) 96,290 7.26 5,080 0.38 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (5) The number of pupil enrolments who received exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) by SEN, in January 2008. (6) Pupils' SEN status at the time of their most recent fixed period or permanent exclusion.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Referral Units

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) statemented and ( b) non-statemented pupils with special educational needs have been placed in (i) pupil referral units and (ii) alternative provision in each year since 1997.

Sarah Teather: The information requested on pupils with special educational needs in pupil referral units can be found in the following publications, on the DFE Research and Statistics Gateway:
	For 2006-10, data can be found in tables 1a and 1b of the Statistical First Release "Special Educational Needs in England: January 2010" at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000939/index.shtml
	For 2001-05, data can be found in tables 1a and 1b of the Statistical First Release "Special Educational Needs in England January 2005" at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000584/index.shtml
	For 1997-2000, data can be found in tables 1a and 1b of the "Special Educational Needs In England: January 2000" (Bulletin) at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000207/index.shtml
	Information on pupils with special educational needs in alternative provision other than pupil referral units is only available from 2008. Data can be found in table C in the Statistical First Release "Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2010" at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000925/index.shtml
	Information for pupils with special educational needs in alternative provision for 2008 and 2009 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Alternative provision: Pupils with and without statements of special educational needs (SEN)( 1)  January 2008 and 2009 England 
			   2008  2009 
			 Pupils on roll 20,900 21,680 
			
			 Pupils with statements 13,400 14,560 
			 Percentage(2) 64.1 67.2 
			
			 Pupils with SEN without statements 1,680 1,760 
			 Percentage(2) 8.0 8.1 
			 (1) Includes sole or dual registered pupils. (2) The number of pupils with and without statements expressed as a proportion of the number of pupils on roll.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Alternative Provision Census

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bilateral Aid: Climate Change

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his review of bilateral aid programmes will consider which aid instruments are most effective at addressing climate change.

Stephen O'Brien: The Secretary of State for International Development has recently commissioned a review of the Department for International Development's aid programmes to determine how we can achieve better value for money for the taxpayer and accelerate progress towards the millennium development goals. Measures to address the effects of climate change will be considered as part of this review.

Brazil: Cattle

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has made to the Government of Brazil on the sustainability of cattle ranching in that country.

Andrew Mitchell: I have made no representations to date. The British embassy in Brasilia and Department for International Development staff hold regular discussions with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Our aim is to support the Ministry's plans to make agriculture, including cattle ranching, more sustainable. The Ministry plans to reduce pressure on deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the cattle sector through innovative land-management practices, smarter fertiliser use and increased pasture yields.

Centres for Disease Control

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for the future funding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stephen O'Brien: As a UK Government Department, we do not provide funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, United States. However, we work closely with them on a number of policy issues including polio eradication, malaria and tuberculosis.

Common Agricultural Policy

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on amending the Common Agricultural Policy to increase long-term stability in food production.

Stephen O'Brien: The Secretary of State has not yet had the chance to discuss this important issue with his EU counterparts.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) employs one civil servant to write speeches for Ministers.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2010,  Official Report, column 625W, on developing countries: climate change, what recent assessment he has made of the merits of the TradeCom programme.

Stephen O'Brien: The European Commission are currently conducting a formal evaluation of the TradeCom programme. The Department for International Development (DFID) will consider this alongside evaluations of other programmes when deciding upon future support to developing countries in trade and climate negotiations.

Developing Countries: Forests

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated in respect of  (a) forestry programmes and  (b) reforestation projects in developing countries in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the UKs (i) international development budget and (ii) bilateral aid programme it represented in each case in each such year.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's bilateral expenditure on forestry programmes and the proportion this expenditure represents of total UK development aid and DFID's bilateral aid programme, in each of the last 10 years, are in the following table. We are unable to separate spending on reforestation and funding on broader forest development or forest policy without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   DFID bilateral forestry (£ 000)  % of total UK development aid  % of total DFID bilateral 
			 1999-2000 25,211 0.8 1.9 
			 2000-01 23,373 0.7 1.7 
			 2001-02 25,831 0.7 1.7 
			 2002-03 19,985 0.5 1.1 
			 2003-04 20,074 0.4 1.0 
			 2004-05 15,778 0.3 0.7 
			 2005-06 1,518 0.2 0.6 
			 2006-07 15,620 0.2 0.6 
			 2007-08 7,352 0.1 0.2 
			 2008-09 21,881 0.3 0.7

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish his Department's Maternal Health Strategy; and how that strategy will acknowledge the relationship between maternal health and child health.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) will publish its business plan for reproductive, maternal and newborn health by the end of 2010. It seeks to increase women's ability to choose when, and how often, they have a child, and to increase the survival of women and babies during pregnancy and childbirth. This will have a significant positive impact on families, economies and societies, as well the health and empowerment of women themselves.
	The plan will clearly acknowledge the links between maternal health and child health. Nearly 40% of deaths of children under five occur in the first month of life, up to 45% in the first 24-hours. Preventing unintended pregnancies and ensuring pregnancy and child birth is safe for all mothers and babies make a vital contribution to child health. Recent DFID-supported evidence from Bangladesh shows that a child who has lost their mother has a significantly lower chance of surviving to 10 years old.

Developing Countries: Rivers

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to facilitate improvements in the levels of the sanitation and sustainability of major rivers in the developing world.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports actions at country, regional and global levels to improve the overall management of water resources, which includes measures to manage pollution and maintain water quality in rivers.
	Better water management supports economic growth, increases resilience to climate change and reduces the potential for conflict. In developing countries, DFID is supporting water resource programmes in Sudan (Darfur), Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. DFID also supports improved regional water management in the Nile Basin, South Asia and Southern Africa.

Overseas Aid: Health Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish his Department's 2009 health portfolio review.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development's health portfolio review will be published later this year and will be available at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Overseas Aid: Health Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's country programmes had health advisors in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) had 20 country programmes with health advisors in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and 19 in 2009-10.

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is giving to renewable energy projects in Pakistan.

Stephen O'Brien: Renewable energy has not been a priority for the Department for International Development's (DFID's) programme in Pakistan. However, DFID has supported preparations of an implementation plan for the Pakistan Domestic Biogas Programme, which aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per household by 2 tonnes annually. DFID also provided technical advice to the Chief Minister of the Punjab on renewable energy.
	The Secretary of State has recently commissioned a review of DFID's aid programmes to determine how we can achieve better value for money for the taxpayer and accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. DFID's programme in Pakistan is being reviewed as part this process.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the relative priority of Yemen relative to his Department's other funding priority countries.

Stephen O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan) on 8 July,  Official Report, column 421W, on Yemen: Overseas Aid.

HEALTH

Agency Nurses: Manpower

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of agency nurses working in  (a) Essex and  (b) England.

Anne Milton: The Department does not collect centrally the number of agency staff employed in the national health service in England.

Agency Nurses: Manpower

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses employed by the NHS are also employed as agency staff.

Anne Milton: The 2009 NHS Workforce Census shows that there are 395,229 qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (excl. general practice nurses of which there are 21,935) employed in the national health service in England.
	The Department does not collect centrally whether nurses who are employed by the NHS also work as agency staff.

Arthritis: Health Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made a recent assessment of the  (a) performance of the NHS in delivering health services to people with rheumatoid arthritis and  (b) cost-effectiveness of the provision of such services in relation to the levels of economic productivity of such people; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of commissioners of health care services to deliver services which are closely matched to the needs of their populations. This includes supporting people with rheumatoid arthritis to enter, return to and remain in employment.
	As part of Dame Carol Black's review of the health of Britain's working age population "Working for a healthier tomorrow", 11 Fit for Work Service pilots will integrate with existing health and employment-related structures and services, such as Jobcentre Plus and relevant local partnerships to join up appropriate support for sickness absentees. The pilots will evaluate the benefits of case managed, multi-disciplinary support for individuals in the early stages of sickness absence to ensure an early return to work and prevent long-term unemployment.
	As musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common causes of sickness absence, appropriate support for these will be an integral part of the Fit for Work Service pilots and those with rheumatoid arthritis will receive appropriate and timely treatment.
	The Department has not made specific assessments of the performance of the national health service in delivering services to people with rheumatoid arthritis or of the cost effectiveness of the provision of such services in relation to the economic productivity of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Autism: Children

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research to inform the proposed National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on managing autism in children, with particular reference to effective interventions for children with autism and co-occurring mental health problems.

Paul Burstow: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is currently developing a clinical guideline on autism spectrum disorders in children and young people. This will be based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence.
	The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council already fund a range of research relating to autism. A study currently funded by NIHR on effective therapy for anxiety in young people with autism spectrum disorder is expected to complete in September 2011.

Blood: Cancer

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 527W, on blood: cancer, what progress has been made by those cancer networks which had not implemented all the key recommendations made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in its guidance on improving outcomes in haematological cancers guidance; whether the Government is on track to meet the target of full implementation of the guidance by December 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: All 28 cancer networks in England have implemented the clinical service element of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on improving outcomes in haematological cancers. Issues remain about implementation of the guidance on setting up haemato-pathology services across all the cancer networks. The National Cancer Action Team continues to work with cancer networks to support implementation of the guidance across the country by the end of December 2010, but it is possible that a minority of networks will not be in a position to commence activity in this area until early 2011.

Cancer: Drugs

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of progress on the proposed Cancer Drugs Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We are working towards implementing the Cancer Drugs Fund from April 2011. We plan to set out details for the establishment of the fund soon. In the meantime, we are considering what more can be done before this to help patients access the cancer drugs recommended by their clinicians.

Cancer: Health Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the maximum time an NHS patient with cancer should have to wait from reporting the onset of symptoms to  (a) diagnosis and  (b) treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Any patient urgently referred for suspected cancer by their general practitioner (GP) should be seen by a specialist and begin the diagnostic process within two weeks, unless they choose to wait longer. If cancer is subsequently diagnosed, these patients, unless there is good clinical reason or patient choice, should begin treatment within 62 days.
	In the last period for which statistics are available (Quarter 4 2009-10) 95.6% of patients were seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer. 86.7% of patients began treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.
	Statistics on the time a patient waits between referral and diagnosis for cancer are not collected centrally.

Care Homes: Exercise

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage care homes to provide exercise for their residents.

Paul Burstow: The Care Homes Regulations 2001, supported by National Minimum Standards, require care homes to meet service users' needs and to satisfy their expectations, preferences and social, cultural, religious and recreational interests. This will include, if it is appropriate to service users' wishes and needs, ensuring sufficient opportunities for exercise and recreation.
	The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects homes against a series of outcomes for residents. Outcome 4 -"Care and welfare of people who use services"-states:
	"People who use services should experience effective, safe and appropriate care, treatment and support that meets their needs and protects their rights"
	and that care
	"Maintains (their) welfare and promotes their wellbeing by taking account of all their needs, including: physical, mental, social, personal relationships, emotional, daytime activity."
	During an inspection visit, CQC will ask providers to demonstrate how they ensure that residents are enabled to take appropriate exercise or participate in suitable activities and will ask residents themselves for their rating of these activities.
	UK Older People's Day-to take place on 1 October this year, to coincide with the United Nation's International Day for Older People. This will be the fourth year the day has been celebrated in the UK. For 2010, Older People's Day will have a new theme-"Getting and staying active in later life." Encouraging people to prepare well for and enjoy a positive later life benefits each of us individually and society as a whole. Information is provided at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/ageing-society/full-of-life/
	More information on how to get involved with Older People's Day 2010 will be made available over coming months.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital with a  (a) primary and  (b) secondary diagnosis of diabetes there were (i) in all age groups and (ii) amongst those aged 65 years and over in (A) England and (B) each primary care trust area in each of the last 13 years.

Paul Burstow: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of diabetes  (a) in the general population and  (b) amongst those aged 65 years in the last 20 years; and what his most recent estimate is of the prevalence of diabetes in each of those groups.

Paul Burstow: We know that the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes is increasing. There are a number of reasons for this. It is partly because our population is living longer and partly because of the rise in the number of people who are obese. Improvements in the identification of diabetes have also been made.
	The assessment in trends for the general population and those aged 65 years and over for which data are available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Prevalence of diabetes, by survey year and age 
			  Percentage 
			   Survey year 
			  Doctor-diagnosed diabetes  ( adults-age )  1994  1998  2003  2006 
			 65-74 5.3 6.8 10.1 12.9 
			 75+ 6.0 7.4 9.3 11.7 
			 All adults (aged 16 and over) 2.4 2.8 3.9 4.9 
			  Notes: 1. Data are available only from 1994 to 2006 2. Estimates from the Association of Public Health Observatories suggest that in 2010 there are: 3,099,000 people with diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed) aged 16 years and older 1,514,000 people aged 65+ with diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed).  Source: Health Survey for England 
		
	
	The Institute of Diabetes for Older People has been commissioned by the Department to undertake a national initiative to enhance the quality of diabetes care for all older people in the United Kingdom. Part of this work involves developing an audit/quality tool to assess the diabetes care within residential and nursing homes. A pilot assessment of a toll is going on in Hertfordshire currently to be completed by October 2010. A larger national audit is being planned for 2011.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what data the Care Quality Commission  (a) collects and  (b) holds on the care of people with diabetes resident in adult social care homes;
	(2)  what data the Care Quality Commission  (a) collects and  (b) holds on the screening for diabetes of people resident in adult social care homes;
	(3)  what measures the Care Quality Commission uses to assess the quality of diabetes care for people with that condition who are resident in adult social care homes in England;
	(4)  on how many occasions  (a) the Care Quality Commission and  (b) the Commission for Social Care Inspection has reported on the quality of diabetes care in adult social care homes in each of the last five years;
	(5)  what recent assessment he has made of the quality of care delivered to people with diabetes in care homes.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and is therefore responsible for assuring the safety and quality of care in care homes.
	CQC has provided the following information about its current practices.
	Under the current framework, set by the Care Standards Act 2000, CQC does not collect information about the specific health needs of residents, or about the residents themselves. Diabetes is not a primary reason for needing admission to a home so it is not part of the 'client group' data that CQC does collect. In addition, care homes are not required to register as specialist providers of diabetes care.
	The same approach applies in terms of screening. No data are specifically collected on diabetes, although providers of residential care are expected to ensure that people have access to community health care services in the same way as people living in their own homes.
	Under the new registration framework for health and social care, which will be introduced on 1 October for independent healthcare and adult social care providers (including providers of care homes), all providers of regulated activities have to register with the Commission and meet a set of 16 registration requirements of essential levels of safety and quality.
	In relation to diabetes care, the registration requirements include the following: care and welfare of service users, management of medicines, and meeting nutritional needs.
	The CQC is responsible for ensuring that providers of regulated activities meet the registration requirements. The Commission has issued its Guidance about Compliance, which explains in more detail about how providers can comply with them.
	Neither CQC nor its predecessor, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, have undertaken or published any special studies relating to diabetes care in care homes.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance his Department has issued to providers of adult social care homes on  (a) screening for diabetes and  (b) managing the care of residents with diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not published specific guidance to providers of adult social care homes on managing people with diabetes. However, Diabetes UK has recently published "Good clinical practice guidelines for care home residents with diabetes" available at:
	www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/Our_Views/Care_recommendations/Good-clinical-practice-guidelines-for-care-home-residents-with-diabetes/
	The guidelines cover national policy on good clinical practice for diabetes care within care homes, a framework of assessment of the quality of diabetes care within care homes for use by regulatory bodies that have responsibility for this provision and made key recommendations.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of residents of care homes who have  (a) diagnosed and  (b) undiagnosed diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department has commissioned the Institute of Diabetes for Older People to undertake a national initiative to enhance the quality of diabetes care for all older people in the United Kingdom. Part of this work involves developing an audit/quality tool to assess diabetes care within residential and nursing homes. A pilot assessment of a tool is going on in Herefordshire currently to be completed by October 2010. A larger national audit is being planned for 2011.

Emergency Calls

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system for locating the source of medical emergency calls made from rural areas.

Simon Burns: Incoming 999 emergency calls are for NHS ambulance services to manage locally and no formal assessment has been made centrally. However, where a 999 call is made (either from a landline or mobile phone), location information (the address for calls from a landline and an approximate area for calls from a mobile phone) is provided to the ambulance service by the communications provider. This information is available to all emergency controls either by automatic data transfer or verbally on request. Trusts have been encouraged to invest in the technology that enables automatic data transfer.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projects on public attitudes to genetically-modified  (a) crops,  (b) food and  (c) feed have been funded by the Food Standards Agency since 1997; what the (i) topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has commissioned one research project on public attitudes to genetically modified food, project X04002 "Exploring Attitudes to GM Food" which was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research between April and November 2009. The total cost was £73,654.50 and the final report has been published on the FSA's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/gmreportnov09suumary.pdf
	The FSA previously undertook a range of activities in 2002-03 to complement the Government's "GM Nation?" public debate. These included focus groups (Cragg Ross Dawson and the Scottish Civic Forum, March 2002 and March 2003), a citizen's jury (Opinion Leader Research, April 2003), a schools' debate (March 2003 and a school video (April 2003). The total cost of these activities was £112,935. The report of these activities is published on the FSA's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/gm_rep.pdf

Health Services: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on encouraging general practitioners  (a) to ask whether a patient has served in the armed forces and  (b) to provide information on support services to ex-service personnel.

Simon Burns: The former chief medical officer sent a letter to all general practitioners (GPs) in February this year asking GPs to record the status of veterans as part of any referral. GPs have also been given guidance on how to record the status of veterans on their information systems. We are proceeding with plans to improve information systems so that, in future, when military personnel leave the armed forces, they will be provided with information on their entitlement to treatment in the national health service, including priority treatment. Once these are in place, military personnel will be encouraged before they leave the service to fill out a GP registration form which asks whether or not the patient registering is a veteran. The form will then be sent direct to the new GP or given to the veteran to present on registration.
	A leaflet setting out what support is available has been produced for service veterans and copies were sent to each GP practice last year. These were produced with the Royal British Legion and we will continue to work with them and with Combat Stress as one of our strategic partners to ensure that the services available for veterans are publicised.

Health Services: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of awareness of general practitioners and other health service providers of the medical assistance programme for ex-service personnel.

Simon Burns: The Medical Assessment Programme (MAP), based at St Thomas' Hospital, London, is available to veterans who were deployed on operations since 1982. It offers comprehensive physical and mental health assessments for veterans who feel that their ill health may be linked to military service. The MAP can be accessed directly by veterans and their families, as well as through general practitioners (GPs). Although we have made no specific assessment of the level of awareness about this programme, it is publicised through many channels. We have confirmed that £2 million additional funding in the current financial year will be made available for a range of initiatives to improve veterans' mental health and this will include production of training resources for GPs. Discussions are currently in hand with the Royal College of General Practitioners about what form this might take.

Hospitals: Admissions

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department collects on the reasons for which people are admitted to hospital from residential care institutions.

Paul Burstow: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care collects and publishes details of all admissions to national health service hospitals in England as hospital episode statistics (HES).
	HES includes a field entitled 'Source of Admission'. This field contains a code, which identifies where the patient was immediately prior to admission and which can be used to differentiate between patients admitted from home and patients transferred from another hospital provider or institution.
	HES also contains clinical information on patients such as diagnosis, clinically significant co-morbidities and treatments performed. This can be combined with data on the source of admission to allow analysis into the clinical reasons for which people are admitted to hospital from residential care institutions.

Mental Health Services: Children

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that primary care trust commissioners work in partnership with schools in the process for commissioning child and adolescent mental health services at a local level;
	(2)  what statutory duties there are on  (a) adult mental health services,  (b) adult social services and  (c) child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to aid the transition of children who need continuing mental health support from CAMHS to adult services.

Paul Burstow: In 2006, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills (now DFE) published 'Transition: Getting it Right for Young People', which provided guidance for primary care trusts and local authorities to ensure that they worked together effectively.
	A review of services for disabled children in 2007 found inconsistency in transition support and families were not clear about the purpose of the transition process. The Transition Support Programme (TSP) managed by the Council for Disabled Children is helping all 152 local services (education, health and social care) to develop and work better together, to ensure that young people and their families are at the heart of decisions and plans for the future.
	The transition from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult services is a critical point for young people with complex mental health needs. The Government are developing support to help young people's and adult services improve these transitions to ensure that both the processes and the models of care meet the needs of young people and their families.
	In response to the final report of the independent CAMHS review published in November 2008, which was critical of transitional arrangements, a number of pieces of work on the transition between children's and adult mental health care have been set-up. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), the National CAMHS Support Service (NCSS) and National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) will be collaborating to produce a series of resources to support practitioners and commissioners to provide better care for adolescents and young adults.
	The work is being overseen by a steering group on which SCIE, NCSS and NMHDU are represented along with adult and CAMHS, Department of Health and Department of Education representatives. The group meets monthly to co-ordinate the work. Advisory processes for engagement of external stakeholder are currently being agreed.
	Local education authorities have a statutory duty to co-operate with other local agencies including health and social care in making transition plans for each child with special educational needs (SEN). The Department and the DFE are working together to ensure that organisations co-operate locally including on CAMHS.
	While there are no specific statutory duties on these organisations relating CAMHS, many children and young people with mental health needs also have a Statement of SEN.

Multiple Sclerosis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in each of the last 10 years; what medication is available on the NHS to those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Patients living with multiple sclerosis are able to access the full range of medications, as recommended in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for the treatment of this condition. This may include steroids to treat relapses, and the use of disease modifying drugs such as beta interferon, glatiramer acetate, and natalizumab.
	Information on the number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis each year is not collected centrally.

NHS: Drugs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government plans to review the appraisal of drugs for the treatment of ultra orphan diseases through a process of national specialist commissioning.

Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 July,  Official Report, column 482W.

NHS: Finance

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of hospital  (a) accident and emergency,  (b) surgical units and  (c) children's departments in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14 of the planned savings of £20 billion in the NHS between 2011 and 2014.

Simon Burns: Information on the effect of local plans on the number of accident and emergency, surgical units and children's departments is not collected centrally.
	Decisions on the configuration of local health services are made by local national health service organisations.

NHS: Finance

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of  (a) nursing,  (b) midwifery and  (c) other non-nursing posts in the NHS in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14 of the planned savings of £20 billion in the NHS between 2011 and 2014.

Simon Burns: It is the responsibility of local national health service organisations to plan and deliver a work force appropriate to the needs of their local population, based on clinical need and sound evidence; this includes planning their share of the efficiency savings. Their proposed plans will be ready later this year.

NHS: Finance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to include day care services provided by hospices in the proposed per-patient funding system;
	(2)  whether funding under the proposed per-patient funding system will be determined on a local or on a national basis.

Paul Burstow: There will be a new review into the funding of palliative care, to be chaired by Tom Hughes-Hallett, Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care. This will look to ensure that money intended to help support those adults and children in need of palliative care is spent in the right way.
	The review will make recommendations for a funding system that will cover care provided in all settings by hospices, the NHS or any other appropriate providers. It is due to report during the summer 2011.

NHS: VAT

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the financial effect on the NHS of the proposed increase in the standard rate of value added tax in 2011.

Simon Burns: The information required to estimate the impact of the proposed increase in value added tax is not held centrally.

Nurses: Manpower

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when estimate has been made of the effect of implementation of recruitment freezes on the number of frontline nursing posts in the NHS.

Simon Burns: No estimates are held centrally on the effect of recruitment freezes on the number of frontline nursing posts in the national health service.
	It is for local NHS organisations to plan and deliver a workforce appropriate to the needs of their local population, based on clinical need and sound evidence. This will require strong leadership and partnership working.

Nutrition: EU Law

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects the community list of permitted health claims, under article 13.3 of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, to be established;
	(2)  when he expects the first batch of article 13.1 health claims under the provisions of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, to be adopted;
	(3)  what his Department's policy is on the establishment of the community list of permitted article 13.1 health claims in batches.

Anne Milton: A draft European Commission Regulation authorising the first batch of Article 13.1 health claims on the role of nutrients, or other substances, in the growth, development and the functions of the body (which are subject to procedures set out under article 13.3) was discussed at the 12 July Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health but not agreed. The Commission intends to present an amended proposal to standing committee on 11 October. If the proposal is agreed by member states on that date legislation could come into force around the end of the year.
	The Government support the aims of the regulation to provide businesses with clarity in the market and to protect consumers against misleading claims. The European Commission has indicated that it is committed to authorising health claims in response to each batch of opinions. The Government are aware of United Kingdom businesses' concerns and the Food Standards Agency will work closely with UK businesses and enforcement bodies to minimise any negative impact this approach may have on businesses.

Osteoporosis: Health Services

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Prevention scheme on the  (a) prevalance and  (b) date of diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Paul Burstow: The Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Prevention scheme introduced in 2008 within general practitioner (GP) contractual arrangements aims to provide an incentive to GP practices to confirm diagnosis and prescribe appropriate pharmacological secondary prevention in patients. Its purpose is to improve patient care by ensuring that specified patient groups are managed appropriately and in accordance with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance.
	Information on prevalence and date of diagnosis is not available centrally. However, financial information from primary care trusts shows that in 2009-10 nearly two-thirds of the available reward monies were paid to GPs for achievement.

Osteoporosis: Health Services

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with the commissioning guidance on osteoporosis and fracture services included in the prevention package for older people.

Paul Burstow: In 2009, as part of the prevention package for older people, the Department issued best practice guidance on "Falls and fractures: effective interventions in health and social care" for organisations to determine how they will implement falls prevention and effective fracture management.
	It is for organisations to decide locally how best to deliver services that meet the requirements of their communities. In doing this, local commissioning of services should be community focussed and take account of the full range of services for falls, fractures and osteoporosis.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Departmental Consultants

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what budget his Department has allocated for consultancy in 2010-11.

Gregory Barker: The Department has allocated a budget of £14,327,220 for the financial year 2010-11.

Departmental Internet

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on website design in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008, and its official corporate website:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/
	was launched on 23 February 2009.
	The amount spent on website design by the Department and bodies, since the Department's inception, is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			  Organisation  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Department of Energy and Climate Change 8,435 6,945 
			 Civil Nuclear Police Authority 1,850 1,900 
			 Civil Nuclear Constabulary 5,450 7,902 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 19,895 10,390 
			 The Committee on Climate Change (1)49,204 9,816 
			 Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (2)8,000 5,464 
			 (1) Cost of design and set-up of whole site following creation of CCC. Not possible to extract design costs alone. (2) Cost of management of the whole site. Not possible to extract design costs alone.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on hospitality in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: Department of Energy and Climate Change and its non-departmental bodies spend on hospitality was:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Financial year 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			  (a) Department of Energy and Climate Change 36 35 
			  (b) non-departmental public bodies 28 24

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: The Department was established in October 2008. It spent £298,000 on security from October 2008 to March 2009 and £600,000 in 2009-10.
	The Department's non-departmental public bodies spent £322,000 on security in 2008-9 and £361,000 in 2009-10.

Departmental Stationery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on stationery in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: The financial systems used by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and its non-departmental public bodies do not enable all stationery costs to be separately identified. To provide the information would disproportional in terms of cost. Therefore the figures in the table for stationery expenditure also include some printing costs:
	
		
			  £ 000 
			   FY 2008-09  FY 2009-10 
			  (a) Department for Energy and Climate Change 127 420 
			  (b) Non-departmental public bodies 297 307

Departmental Utilities

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: The Department spent from its inception in October 2008 the following amounts in each year.
	Electricity and heating costs are not separately identifiable without incurring disproportionate cost. In respect of telephone services the costs for 2008-09 are not separately identifiable without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			 n/a = Not available. 
			 Electricity and heating 154 271 
			 Water 17 39 
			 Telephone services n/a 316 
		
	
	Expenditure by the Department's non-departmental public bodies is as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			 Electricity and heating 469 420 
			 Water 45 20 
			 Telephone services 1,150 1,071

EC Law

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the cost to his Department of compliance with regulations arising from EU obligations in the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: Like all employers, Government Departments have to act in accordance with a wide variety of regulation ranging from health and safety to employment, but it is not standard accounting practice to distinguish regulatory compliance costs from overall running costs, whether of EU origin or domestic.
	Given the lack of off-the-shelf figures, producing such an estimate on a Department-by-Department basis would be a major undertaking, and would involve disproportionate expenditure. By way of comparison, the Administrative Burdens Measurement Exercise, which provided an indicative estimate of administrative burdens across the UK economy, cost in excess of £10 million to undertake.

Electric Cables

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department plans to undertake strategic environmental assessments of the onshore electricity transmission lines proposed by the Electricity Networks Strategy Group; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Electricity Networks Strategy Group report "Our Electricity Transmission Network: A Vision for 2020" sets out the Transmission Network companies' view of the potential electricity transmission network investments that would be needed to accommodate the change in the generation mix to 2020. Their report does not require strategic environmental assessment (SEA).
	Routes for specific transmission lines are subject to planning approval, and the planning system allows all stakeholders to have their views considered when decisions are made. As part of the process of preparing an application for a transmission line, National Grid will undertake routeing and siting studies in accordance with guidelines that take into account amenity issues including visual and other environmental impacts of proposed lines.

Electric Cables

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on alternatives for electricity transmission to overhead lines of 132 kilovolts and above; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: Electricity transmission in England and Wales is defined as above 132kv. In Scotland transmission is defined as 132kv and above.
	It is the responsibility of the transmission owners (TOs) to design and develop the networks in the most efficient manner.
	DECC has not undertaken research of its own into this matter.

Electric Cables

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the replacement of overhead power lines and pylons with underground cables.

Charles Hendry: It is the responsibility of the transmission owners to design and develop the networks in the most efficient manner, within the regulatory price control review mechanism.
	We would expect the transmission owner companies to make a balanced assessment of the benefits of reducing any environmental impacts of overhead electricity transmission lines, including by undergrounding, against the costs and technical challenges of doing so.

Energy: Subsidies

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on subsidies for wind turbines in each year since 1997.

Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation is currently the Government's main mechanism for supporting renewables generation. It is a market based instrument and the amount received by generators is set by the market. It is therefore not possible to say with certainty how much support has been received by wind generation. However, the following table gives an estimate of the amount of subsidy given out.
	
		
			   £000 
			   Total  (onshore and offshore) 
			 2002-03 53,350 
			 2003-04 66,974 
			 2004-05 95,460 
			 2005-06 131,123 
			 2006-07 242,940 
			 2007-08 305,905 
			 2008-09 419,371 
		
	
	In the years between 1997 and 2002 the Government's main mechanism for supporting renewables generation was the non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO), but data on the amount of subsidy provided for wind are not readily available, and the cost of obtaining it would be disproportionate on this timescale. The renewables obligation was introduced in April 2002. Final figures for the year 2009-10 are not yet available.
	The DTI offshore wind capital grants scheme made a net award of £36.0 million to support the development of four early offshore wind farms between 2004-05 and 2009-10.
	Grants from the Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) as well as Clear Skies are outlined in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   LCBP-1 and 1e  Clear Skies  LCBP-2 and 2e  Total 
			 2006-07 402,248 941,774 0 1,344,021 
			 2007-08 870,115 0 24,653 894,768 
			 2008-09 623,401 0 1,896,855 2,520,256 
			 2009-10 495,605 0 4,542,395 5,038,000 
			 2010-11 303,635 0 3,657,904 3,961,539 
			 Total 2,695,004 941,774 10,121,807 13,758,584

Energy: Subsidies

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on subsidies for hydro-electricity power production in each year since 1997.

Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation is the Government's main current mechanism for supporting renewables generation. It is a market based instrument and the amount received by generators is set by the market. It is therefore not possible to say exactly how much support has been received by hydro generation. However, the following table gives an estimate of the amount of subsidy given out.
	
		
			  Financial year ( 1) Total (£ 000 ) 
			 2002-03 27,845 
			 2003-04 70,594 
			 2004-05 101,849 
			 2005-06 84,457 
			 2006-07 120,579 
			 2007-08 129,356 
			 2008-09 125,063 
			 (1) Estimate 
		
	
	In the years between 1997 and 2002 the Government's main mechanism for supporting renewables generation was the non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO), but data on the amount of subsidy provided for hydro are not readily available, and the cost of obtaining them would be disproportionate on this timescale.
	The variation between years is mainly due to different levels of rainfall, e.g. 2005-06 was a fairly dry year.
	Final figures for the amount of subsidies given out for hydro under the renewables obligation in 2009-10 will not be available until later in the year.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what definition of the term fuel poverty his Department currently uses; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth (usually defined as 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).

Fuel Poverty: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate has been made of the number of households which will enter fuel poverty in each London local authority area following the introduction of the higher standard rate of value added tax.

Gregory Barker: The change in the rate of value added tax (VAT) will not have any direct impact on the level of fuel poverty, as the reduced rate of VAT, which applies to domestic heating fuels, will remain unchanged.

Nuclear Power: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his policy of providing no subsidy for nuclear power with the existing limitation on liabilities on private nuclear power plant operators under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965;
	(2)  if he will estimate the potential cost to the public purse of a beyond- design-basis accident at a civil nuclear installation in the United Kingdom that creates liabilities above the existing limitation of liabilities placed on nuclear installation operators;
	(3)  what discussions Ministers and officials in his Department have had with companies that have indicated an interest in building new nuclear power plants in the UK on the implications for their investment in new plants of the removal of limitation on liabilities under insurance arrangements covering nuclear installation operators.

Charles Hendry: The UK has an established and robust regulatory framework that ensures the nuclear industry effectively manages the risks associated with the operation of civil nuclear installations and facilities. As a result of this approach the probability of a beyond-design basis accident is considered to be exceedingly small, the possible costs for which it would not be meaningful to estimate in advance.
	There is in place a well-established international regime for regulating liability and compensation for third party damage in the event of an accident. The Nuclear Installations Act 1965 ("1965 Act") implements the UK's obligations under the Paris convention on nuclear third party liability and the Brussels supplementary convention, which we have been contracting parties to since the 1960s. In giving effect to the Paris convention, the 1965 Act limits the liability of nuclear operators to £140 million.
	We are currently working on amendments to the 1965 Act to implement the changes to the conventions agreed in 2004. These changes set a minimum operator liability of €700 million but there is discretion to set a higher limit or have it uncapped. In the circumstances we are reviewing the limitation of operators' liability. We have held no discussions with potential new nuclear operators on this issue however we intend to consult on our proposed changes to the 1965 Act, including limitation of liability, later this year.

Office for Nuclear Development

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason the Office for Nuclear Development was established as a non-departmental public body; what assessment was made of the merits of establishing it as a unit within his Department; and whether it receives any funding support from the commercial nuclear industry.

Charles Hendry: The Office for Nuclear Development (OND) is not a non-departmental public body, but a unit within the Department of Energy and Climate Change. It was established in September 2008 to create a one-stop shop within Government to deal with nuclear matters. The OND does not receive any funding support from the commercial nuclear industry.

Utilities: Housing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of the average household  (a) gas and  (b) electricity bill in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: For an average consumer using 18,000 kWh of gas per year and paying by standard credit, the average annual domestic gas bill in Great Britain was £328 in 1997 and £717 in 2009, the latest year for which the figures are available. Adjusting for the effects of inflation, in real terms (using 2005 prices) equivalent bills were £393 in 1997 and £649 in 2009.
	For an average consumer using 3,300 kWh of electricity per year and paying by standard credit, the average annual domestic electricity bill in the UK was £285 in 1997 and £461 in 2009. Adjusting for the effects of inflation, in real terms (using 2005 prices) equivalent bills were £342 in 1997 and £417 in 2009.
	All of this information is available in chapter 2 of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's publication 'Quarterly Energy Prices', which can be found on the DECC website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/prices/prices.aspx
	and in the Libraries of the House.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effect of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 on fuel poverty since July 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: No specific research has been commissioned on the effect of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 on fuel poverty since July 2009.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to bring forward proposals to restrict existing rights to appeal against decisions of the Boundary Commission as part of his proposed reform of constituency boundaries.

Mark Harper: The current rules for boundary reviews do not provide for an 'appeal' process as such but they do set out arrangements for consultation on the Commission's recommendations. Representations may be made on the provisional recommendations and, upon the publication of revised recommendations, further representations may be made before final recommendations are published.
	As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 5 July 2010,  Official Report, column 24, a Bill will be introduced before the summer recess to implement the coalition agreement commitment to make provision for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. Detailed provisions on consultation will be included in the Bill and Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the Bill fully.

Constituencies

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what data derived from the 2011 Census he plans to take into account of in his proposed review of Parliamentary constituency boundaries.

Mark Harper: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 5 July 2010,  Official Report, column 24, a Bill will be introduced before the summer recess to implement the coalition agreement commitment to make provision for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. At the next boundary review, in common with boundary reviews conducted under the existing legislation (the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986), registered electorate will be the basis for the review.

Elections: Registration

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the completeness of the electoral register of individual voter registration.

Mark Harper: The Government have committed to speeding up the implementation of individual electoral registration and is currently considering the different options for implementation, including ways to maximise the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register, as well as tackling electoral fraud. The Government will inform the House of its plans in due course.

Elections: Registration

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he plans to take to increase the completeness of the electoral register in 2010.

Mark Harper: The Government will be considering what steps can be taken to improve registration rates in the context of the implementation of individual electoral registration in Great Britain.

Electoral Systems: Referendums

Jack Straw: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the costs of holding a referendum on the alternative vote system.

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of the cost to Government Departments of administering the proposed referendum on the alternative vote system.

David Crausby: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimated cost to the public purse will be of the referendum on the alternative vote.

Mark Harper: Many of the cost elements of running the proposed referendum on the alternative vote system will be similar to those for a general election. The previous Government estimated the cost for conduct elements of the 2010 general election in Great Britain at £82.1 million,  Official Report, 30 March 2010, column 1079W. Based on this, and our modelling for the 2009 European and 2010 general elections, it can be estimated that the cost of conduct elements for the proposed referendum will be similar. We have made initial assumptions about the conduct costs of a referendum were it not to be combined with any other polls and on that basis we currently estimate a saving of £17 million on the conduct costs of the referendum through combination.
	Additionally, as indicated in the written answer by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Mr Streeter) of 6 July,  Official Report, column 144W, the Electoral Commission has estimated that the cost of its own activities in relation to the referendum at £9.3 million.
	Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, designated lead campaign organisations are entitled to send a referendum address post free, similar to the entitlement in place for candidates at general elections. The cost of funding this entitlement does not form part of the costs of the conduct of the poll. The Government are considering how this entitlement will apply at the referendum on the alternative vote.

Electoral Systems: Reform

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the timing of the proposed referendum on the alternative vote system.

Mark Harper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced the Government's proposals for a referendum on the alternative vote, on 5 July 2010,  Official Report, column 23-25. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and I have had discussions with the Commission on a number of matters.

European Communities Act 1972

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many representations he has received under the Your Freedom initiative on repeal of the European Communities Act 1972.

Nicholas Clegg: Since launching the Your Freedom online engagement on 1 July, we have had high response levels.
	After just seven days we had received 9,796 ideas and 51,957 comments. Within the range of ideas received 59 relate to the European Communities Act (1972).

General Elections

William Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what information he has  (a) sought and  (b) received from the Electoral Commission on the simultaneous holding of the next general election with elections to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales on 7 May 2015.

Mark Harper: The Government intend to consult a range of stakeholders in relation to their proposal to introduce fixed-term Parliaments.

Members: Conduct

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a power of recall of hon. Members by their constituents.

Mark Harper: The Government are currently considering what would be the fairest, most appropriate and robust procedure for a power of recall. We will bring forward our legislative proposals in due course.

Voting Rights: Prisoners

David Hanson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he plans to take to implement the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights' on voting rights for prisoners in the UK.

Mark Harper: The Government are considering afresh the issue of prisoner voting rights.

West Lothian Question

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on establishing a commission to consider the West Lothian Question.

Mark Harper: I will be giving consideration to the requirements over the coming weeks and aim to announce our plans for the commission by autumn 2010.

CABINET OFFICE

Electoral Register: Wakefield

Mary Creagh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of  (a) the size of the adult population and  (b) the number of people registered to vote in the Metropolitan District of Wakefield.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of (a) the size of the adult population and (b) the number of persons registered to vote resident in the metropolitan district of Wakefield (6722).
	The table below shows (a) the mid-2009 estimated resident population aged 18 and over for Wakefield and (b) the number of people registered to vote in local government elections as at 1 December 2009, resident in Wakefield. These figures are the latest available.
	The definition of residency differs between the two figures above. The mid-year population estimates refer to the usually resident population as defined by the standard United Nations definition of residing in an area for at least 12 months, regardless of eligibility to vote. To register to vote in local government elections, a person must be resident in the electoral area. In this context, residency is not defined in law but it has been held by the courts to entail a 'considerable degree of permanence'.
	
		
			  Estimated mid-year population and persons registered to vote, 2009 
			  Metropolitan borough  Number of people registered to vote 1 December 2009  Resident( 1)  population aged 18+ mid-2009 
			 Wakefield 248,167 255,000 
			 (1) Population estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Lone Parents: Cynon Valley

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many lone parents there are in Cynon Valley constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many lone parents there are in Cynon Valley constituency. (6779)
	The number and type of families in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates are provided for lone parent families which include at least one child aged under 16.
	The latest available figure is for 2008 and is shown in the table below. This is based on the 2008 parliamentary constituency boundary. Cynon Valley, as constituted in 2008, consisted of 13 electoral wards, two fewer than the current constituency. The breakdown of the data available is not sufficiently detailed to determine whether the newly constituted parliamentary constituency contains the same estimated number of lone parents as the 2008 constituency.
	
		
			  Geographical area  Number of lone parent families-with at least one child under 16 (thousand) 
			 Cynon Valley constituency (2008) 3 
			  Source: APS January to December 2008

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has issued guidance to non-departmental public bodies planned to be abolished on expenditure by them from the public purse; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: In May 2010 HM Treasury wrote to Government Departments to set out spending controls to contribute to the delivery of £6.2 billion savings in 2010-11. These controls also apply to non-departmental public bodies.
	No further guidance has been issued to non-departmental public bodies on their expenditure, and no decisions have yet been made about public bodies planned for abolition.

Personal Income: Wakefield

Mary Creagh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate has been made of  (a) the average income per household and  (b) the average income per individual in Wakefield constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the uthority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of  (a) the average income per household and  (b) the average income per individual in Wakefield constituency in each of the last five years. (6721)
	Table 1 shows the estimated average net weekly equivalised household income in Wakefield constituency, both before and after housing costs, in 2007/08, the latest year for which data are available and for 2004/05, the year previous to 2007/08 for which data are available. Incomes are presented net of income tax payments, National Insurance contributions and Council Tax. The incomes are equivalised to take account of each household's size and composition, in recognition of how these affect their standard of living. Data for individuals are not available.
	The estimates provided are based on small area statistics published by the ONS. They are classed as experimental statistics which means they have been developed in accordance with the principles set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice but have yet to be fully accredited as National Statistics.
	These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Table 1: Average net weekly equivalised household income in Wakefield constituency, 2004-05 and 2007-08 ( 1,2,3) 
			  £ per week 
			   Mean income before (housing costs)( 4)  Mean income (after housing costs)( 4) 
			 2004-05 380 340 
			 2007-08 440 380 
			 1 Incomes are presented net of income tax payments, National Insurance contributions and council tax. 2 Figures rounded to the nearest £10, 3 Data for both years are based on the 2010 parliamentary constituency boundaries 4 Housing costs include rent (gross of housing benefit), water charges, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance, ground rent and service charges.  Source:  Office for National Statistics

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Advantage West Midlands: Malvern

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the latest discussions that have taken place between Advantage West Midlands and QinetiQ on the quantum technology project in Malvern.

Mark Prisk: BIS is aware that Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has been developing a proposal around the Quantum Technology Partnership with QinetiQ. There have as yet been no formal discussions with AWM about their proposal. Individual project funding and investment decisions are for the RDA board, within the context of the RDA budget allocation.

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research projects on public attitudes to the use of pesticides have been funded by each research council; what the (i) research topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; what the lead institution was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

David Willetts: None of the seven UK Research Councils have funded any projects on public attitudes to the use of pesticides.

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research projects on marker-assisted plant breeding  (a) each research council and  (b) the Science and Technology Facilities Council has funded since 1997; what the (i) research topic, (ii) start date, (iii) cost and (iv) project code was of each such project; what the lead institution was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

David Willetts: The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has undertaken research into marker-assisted plant breeding, but the cost of collating the information in the form requested would be disproportionate.
	None of the other research councils have undertaken research into marker-assisted plant breeding.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to expand the provision of superfast broadband.

Edward Vaizey: As stated in the coalition's joint programme for government, we will seek to introduce superfast broadband across the country. On 8 June, the Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics, Media and Sport set out the Government's plans for ensuring the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe by the end of the Parliament.
	These plans include enabling access to existing infrastructure to reduce the cost of deployment, and we will be launching a discussion document on how best to do this on 15 July. Ofcom are at the same time taking forward work looking at the potential for other operators to use BT's existing infrastructure. Further, the Secretary of State has proposed three market testing projects for superfast broadband in rural areas, to be paid for with money left over from the Digital TV switchover helpscheme. The venues for these projects are currently under consideration.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that rural areas have access to high speed broadband; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 13 July 2010
	As stated in the coalition's joint programme for government, we will seek to introduce superfast broadband in remote areas at the same time as in more populated areas. On 8 June, the Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics, Media and Sport set out the Government's plans for ensuring the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe by the end of the Parliament.
	These plans include enabling access to existing infrastructure to reduce the cost of deployment, and we will be launching a discussion document on how best to do this on 15 July. Further, the Secretary of State has proposed three market testing projects for superfast broadband in rural areas, to be paid for with money left over from the Digital TV switchover helpscheme. The venues for these projects are currently under consideration.

Broadband: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to expand the provision of broadband in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: On 8 June, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, the Olympics, Media and Sport set out the Government's plans for ensuring the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe by the end of the Parliament. These plans include enabling access to existing infrastructure to reduce the cost of deployment. Further, the Secretary of State proposed three market testing projects schemes for superfast broadband in rural areas.
	As a first step towards this ambition, the Government are also committed to making a service level of 2Mbps available in towns and villages still without a basic level of access. The office charged with delivering this Universal Service Commitment, Broadband Delivery UK, will be holding an industry event in July to provide further information on the approach to meeting the 2Mbps service commitment and the market testing schemes.

Business: Government Assistance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of  (a) Business Link and  (b) publicly-funded business support in the north east.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government are committed to replacing regional development agencies with local enterprise partnerships. We are working with the regional development agencies (RDAs) to enable this transition. We are reviewing all the functions of the RDAs and we believe some of these are best led nationally, including responsibility for business support. The forthcoming White Paper on sub-national economic growth will set out our approach in more detail.

Business: Investment

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to raise levels of business investment in research and development.

David Willetts: The Chancellor announced in the emergency Budget that we will consult with business in autumn 2010 to review the taxation of intellectual property, the support R and D tax credits provide for innovation and the proposals of the Dyson Review. The coalition agreement makes it clear that we are committed to refocusing the R and D tax credit on hi-tech companies, small firms and start ups as recommended by Sir James Dyson.
	The Government have also set out its intention to create the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20. The Chancellor announced that the corporation tax headline rate will be reduced from 28% to 24% over four years and that the small companies rate will be reduced to 20%.

Internet: Wi-fi

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from proprietors of cafes, bars and other premises offering wireless internet access to customers on the effects on them of the provisions on illegal file-sharing in the Digital Economy Act 2010.

Edward Vaizey: As part of the consultative process prior to the Bill's introduction, this Department received representations from various organisations which offer wi-fi internet access including some of the major internet service Providers (ISPs) and higher educational establishments. These can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/Consultations/illicit-p2p-file-sharing?cat=closedwithresponse
	In addition, officials sought views from and had meetings with educational and cultural organisations such as universities, museums and libraries who offer wi-fi access. There were also several meetings with individual commercial companies and trade bodies from the hospitality, hotel, and holiday park sectors.

Radio Frequencies

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that those who own programme making and special events equipment due to be rendered redundant as a result of the clearance of the 600 MHz and 800 MHz spectrum are not left any worse off as a result of the changes;
	(2)  on what terms the Government will provide compensation to those in the programme making and special events sector whose wireless equipment will be rendered redundant as a consequence of the clearance and sale of the digital dividend spectrum.

Edward Vaizey: Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) users were given notice in 2005 by Ofcom that they would have to vacate channels 31-37 (600 MHz spectrum) and 63-68 (800 MHz spectrum) by 2012, and in 2007 that channels 61-62 (800 MHz spectrum) would no longer be available for use. Ofcom considers this an acceptable period of notice for users to react and are not obliged to offer compensation or to find alternative spectrum. However, Ofcom has said that most of the 32 channels retained for digital terrestrial television after Digital Switchover in the 600 MHz band will still be available on an interleaved basis for PMSE and it is confident there will be enough spectrum in individual locations to more than satisfy historic peak demand.
	Ofcom will be able to say more about precise frequencies in specific locations later this year, following the outcome of negotiations with neighbouring countries.
	After Ofcom's 2005 statement, users had legitimately been expecting to use channel 69 (in the 800 MHz spectrum) for PMSE until 2018, and therefore as Government agreed with a proposal to change the use of this channel, Government will ensure PMSE users will be compensated for being moved from channel 69.
	This Government are now considering options on the appropriate level of compensation, taking into account how we can best ensure users are neither better nor worse off, what sort of precedent a compensation scheme would set, and whether it would be lawful. Equally important, in particular in the current financial climate, is the need to appropriately safeguard and make efficient use of taxpayers' money. A decision will be taken as soon as possible.

JUSTICE

Bailiffs: Misconduct

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders were issued to bailiffs for execution in each of the last five years; and how many complaints  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Courts Service has received alleging misuse by bailiffs of powers granted by the courts to execute such orders in each such year.

Jonathan Djanogly: Court orders for execution by bailiffs are issued in both the county court and the magistrates court.
	All warrants issued by the county court are executed by in house bailiffs and the details of the orders issued are in the following table.
	
		
			  Calendar year  Execution( 1)  Delivery( 2)  Possession( 3)  Committal( 4) 
			 2005 341,097 2,382 131,510 1,844 
			 2006 340,078 2,121 144,990 1,757 
			 2007 310,178 2,359 146,120 1,647 
			 2008 294,823 2,500 159,337 1,353 
			 2009 236,293 2,307 139,131 1,103 
			 (1) Allows saleable items owned by the debtor to be sold unless the amount due under the warrant is paid. (2) For the return of goods or items. (3) For the repossession of property. (4) For enforcing an order where the penalty for failing to comply is imprisonment. It authorises the bailiff to arrest and deliver the person to prison or the court. 
		
	
	Warrants issued by the magistrates courts are executed by both in house Civilian Enforcement Officers (CEOs), where HMCS employ them, and by private Enforcement Agents under contract to HMCS (AEAs).
	The following table gives details of the warrants issued to these two categories. These data are only available from 2006-07 onwards and the final figures for 2009-10 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Financial year  Issued to AEAs( 1)  Issued to CEOs( 2) 
			 2006-07 721,000 598,000 
			 2007-08 648,000 606,000 
			 2008-09 613,000 484,000 
			 (1) Covers warrants, for HMCS areas, for distress and clamping, which allows saleable items owned by the debtor to be sold unless the amount due under the warrant is paid and warrants for arrest for non payment of financial orders or non compliance with Community Penalty orders for HMCS areas where CEOs are not employed. (2) Covers warrants for arrest for non payment of financial orders or non compliance with Community Penalty orders. 
		
	
	As regards complaints alleging misuse by bailiffs of powers granted by the court. HMCS has a complaint recording system which requires staff to record customer dissatisfaction. However it does not specifically collect data about alleged misuse of bailiff powers but in a more general format of complaints about the way a bailiff has handled a warrant.
	The following table indicates the number of such complaints that have been received.
	
		
			  Financial year  County Court warrants  Magistrates warrants 
			 2006-07 369 154 
			 2007-08 442 155 
			 2008-09 475 135 
			 2009-10 423 249 
		
	
	The actual number of these complaints that specifically alleged misuse of powers could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of the individual complaint files.

Departmental Expenditure

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee awaydays in each year since its inception;
	(2)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has spent on information and communication technology in each year since its inception;
	(3)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since its inception;
	(4)  how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on travel for employees in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on hospitality in each year since its inception;
	(6)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on stationery in each year since its inception;
	(7)  how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on logo design in each year since its inception;
	(8)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since its inception;
	(9)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since its inception;
	(10)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on (i) electricity, (ii) water, (iii) heating and (iv) telephone services in each year since its inception;
	(11)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on website design in each year since its inception;
	(12)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on light bulbs in each year since its inception;
	(13)  how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee training since its inception.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice has four Executive agencies and sponsors nine Executive non-departmental public bodies plus 35 probation trusts, most operate separate accounting systems and processes. The information requested is currently being collated and verified. I will write to the hon. Member once this process is complete, which will hopefully be before the House rises for the summer recess.

Departmental Regulation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which of his Department's regulations are under review; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government are currently completing a review of regulatory measures planned for introduction by the previous Government over the coming year and listed in the Forward Regulatory Programme published March 2010
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/bre
	The purpose of the Forward Regulatory Programme is to improve the management and scrutiny of new regulations as they are developed to reduce burdens on businesses. The programme only includes those regulations that have an impact on the private and third sectors.
	These regulations will not be implemented until they have been reviewed and re-agreed by the Reducing Regulation Cabinet Committee.
	The MoJ will be considering suggestions made through the 'Your Freedom' exercise which is currently asking the public for their ideas to reduce pointless regulation and unnecessary bureaucracy.
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/1atest-news/2010/07/your-freedom-52709

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on security in each year since its inception.

Kenneth Clarke: Expenditure on security across the Ministry of Justice's estate covers a wide array of items, including guarding contracts, physical barriers, CCTV, specialist lighting, staff training, information security and IT encryption, as well as the cost of security teams.
	Budgets are devolved to the Ministry's agencies and non-departmental public bodies who then apply them as required. Funding for security is not recorded separately. To extract security costs from the general planned maintenance budget and other provisions in the many and disparate MoJ establishments in England and Wales would incur a disproportionate cost to collate.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Kenneth Clarke: One member of staff is employed as a speechwriter to draft speeches for me and to provide support on speeches to be made by other ministers in the Ministry of Justice. Two special advisers work to me, performing a range of duties, including advice and comments on drafts of speeches. No other civil servants or other individuals are employed to write speeches in the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Travel

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have been driven by the Government Car Service since the Government took office; and how much each of these persons has received in expenses for use of taxis, buses and underground trains in that period.

Crispin Blunt: The Secretary of State, the Minister of State for Justice (MOJ) and the two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State at the Ministry of Justice currently have use of an allocated ministerial car during the week.
	The Home Office provides the arrangements in relation to the Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, who also has ministerial responsibilities at the Ministry of Justice.
	The number of officials who have been driven by the Government Car Service since this Government took office is not held centrally and could be provided only by contacting every division within MOJ at a disproportionate cost.
	MOJ staff, including Ministers and the Department's two special advisers have access to the use of a taxi ordered through departmental taxi accounts or to a car ordered through the Government Car and Despatch Agency. Both the taxi account and the Car and Despatch Agency may only be used in exceptional circumstances which may include:
	by the time you cease work either public transport is not available for your journey from work to home or it would not be reasonable to expect you to use public transport
	or when heavy baggage has to be transported for work-related reasons.
	Ministerial and staff business travel is procured and paid for by the Department prior to travel. Where Ministers and staff have personally paid for business travel; they may be reimbursed by submitting a travel and subsistence claim to the Department. Since the Government took office up to and including 8 July, there have been no such claims made by Ministers or their private office staff. Information is not held centrally for staff in the wider MOJ and could be provided only by examining individual expense claims at a disproportionate cost. However, we are looking at ways in which this information will be centrally recorded in the future.
	The new Ministerial Code, published on 21 May 2010, contains changes that affect Ministerial entitlement to travel by Government car. It states that:
	"the number of Ministers with allocated cars and drivers will be kept to a minimum, taking into account security and other relevant considerations. Other Ministers will be entitled to use cars from the Government Car Service Pool as needed."
	The Department for Transport and its Government Car and Despatch Agency are working with Departments to effect the transition to the new arrangements.
	The Ministerial Code is available on the Cabinet Office website.

Information Commissioner's Office: Standards

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in ensuring that records management and data processing are undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the legislation for which the ICO is a regulator.

Jonathan Djanogly: The ICO is the independent authority responsible for compliance with and enforcement of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2005.
	It is not the role of the Ministry of Justice, and neither does it have the powers, to assess the ICO's compliance with the legislation that the Office is responsible for regulating. However, the ICO conducts regular internal audits which ensure that its policies and procedures remain subject to scrutiny and review. In addition, regular meetings take place between the Department and the ICO to discuss a range of matters, including the ICO's performance, compliance and audit reports.

Prison Service: Budgets

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget was set for HM Prison  (a) Manchester,  (b) Birmingham and  (c) Liverpool in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			 Manchester 35,287,000 35,535,000 
			 Birmingham 30,369,525 29,122,082 
			 Liverpool 26,754,377 25,049,397

Prison Service: Budgets

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget was set for  (a) Merseyside,  (b) West Midlands and  (c) South Wales probation area for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			 Merseyside 32,750,965 30,799,120 
			 West Midlands 57,483,893 73,995,000 
			 South Wales 25,563,052 54,757,600 
		
	
	The increase in 2010-11 for West Midlands reflects the wider merged trust of Staffordshire and West Midlands and the increase in 2010-11 for South Wales reflects the wider merged trust of Wales.

Prisoners Release: Reoffenders

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of methods of assessing the risk of re-offending of inmates prior to release from prison.

Crispin Blunt: For those prisoners subject to a determinate sentence of at least 12 months or subject to an indeterminate sentence (life or IPP), an assessment is made at the pre-release stage through the Offender Assessment System (OASys). OASys includes two predictors of reoffending, the OASys general reoffending predictor (OGP) and the OASys violence predictor (OVP). OVP predicts reoffending involving non-sexual violence, while OGP predicts most other reoffending. The research underpinning these predictors is available on the Ministry of Justice website (Research Summary 2/09 and Research Series 16/09). Validity checks demonstrated that both OGP and OVP substantially improved prediction compared to previous tools.
	An OASys basic custody screening, to be used with all sentenced prisoners, is currently being piloted in Yorkshire and Humberside with the intention of rolling out nationally. This screening includes the Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS) which predicts all types of reoffending. The validation of OGRS version 3 can also be found on the Ministry of Justice website (Research Summary 7/09).

Reoffenders: Ex-servicemen

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what help and advice is available for former military personnel who enter the criminal justice system, with particular reference to schemes to reduce levels of reoffending.

Crispin Blunt: A broad range of services and interventions are delivered generally to offenders across custody and the community to meet particular needs and address offending behaviour. There are a number of accredited offending behaviour programmes addressing thinking skills, anger management, domestic and other types of violent crime as well as sexual offending. A range of interventions is available for offenders with an alcohol or drug problem. Other activities across prison and probation such as training, education, work, non accredited courses, specialist support and resettlement may also have a significant part to play.
	The Ministry of Justice works closely with independent organisations that provide services specifically for veterans, and across Government to raise awareness among ex-service personnel of the help and support available to them and their families while they serve a prison or community sentence.
	Contact details are provided for the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA), The Royal British Legion (TRBL), Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help and Combat Stress. Posters detailing the types of support provided by these agencies are distributed and displayed widely across the prison estate and in Probation offices. Prison officers and offender managers now have direct access to the SPVA website.
	Ministry of Defence funded mental health services provide support to veterans in prison as well as those in the community. The MoD funded Medical Assessment programme provides specialist military mental health advice for veterans in prison referred to them by prison medical staff. The programme has been extended to include reservists mental health for those who have deployed since 2003.
	Many prison governors have managed to appoint a local point of contact for co-ordinating and promoting services as part of the model of practice promoted in the Guide, "Veterans in Custody Support-A Guide" which has been distributed to all prison establishments.
	Many prison and probation staff are veterans themselves and bring further experience and understanding.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Location

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, for what reasons officials working for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority are working in central London; what consideration was given to locating them in a less expensive part of the country; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Walker: IPSA advises me that the merits of basing IPSA in a location other than Westminster were considered early in IPSA's implementation phase. It was concluded that the most appropriate location for IPSA's permanent home was central London, within a reasonable distance of the Palace of Westminster. This decision was taken to minimise the risk of disruption during the handover period between the old system administered by the House of Commons and IPSA's new system, not least in respect of the potential impact on those staff transferring from the House of Commons to IPSA.

Manpower

David Anderson: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the policy of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is on provision of additional staff resources for hon. Members to assist with the processing of claims for allowance payments.

Charles Walker: IPSA does not provide additional staff resources specifically to assist with the processing of claims under the MPs' expenses scheme. If MPs are unable to remain within their staffing budget for the current financial year, they can apply to IPSA for support from the contingency fund. All such applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

Members: Allowances

Ann McKechin: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what procedures the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will adopt to reimburse hon. Members for London Area Living Allowance for the period between the date of the general election and the date on which the initial claim for that allowance was submitted.

Charles Walker: The MPs' expenses scheme does not allow the London Area Living Payment to be paid in respect of any period before IPSA is notified that an MP intends to claim it. Consequently, IPSA is not able to backdate any such claims to the date of the general election.

Members: Allowances

David Anderson: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, whether the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has assessed the merits of introducing a paper-based system for claiming allowance payments.

Charles Walker: IPSA has advised me that the merits of introducing a paper-based system for claiming expenses were considered during the start-up phase of IPSA. It was concluded that in line with current expectations of IT-led delivery within the public sector, it would be inappropriate to design a new expenses process which was not based at least in part on an IT-led solution.
	IPSA remains of the view that an IT-led, rather than paper-based, system is most appropriate. Using an IT-led solution allows IPSA to achieve a high level of transparency more easily and cheaply than an equivalent manual approach. It will also allow any future changes to processes to be more easily implemented.

Members: Rail Travel

Ann McKechin: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the policy of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is on reimbursement of hon. Members for first class rail travel on sleeper services in circumstances where single berths are not available on such services at fares equal to or less than the standard open ticket tariff  (a) with and  (b) without a supplement.

Charles Walker: The MPs' expenses scheme only allows the costs of economy/standard class tickets or the equivalent to be reimbursed. MPs travelling on sleeper train services are additionally entitled to claim for sleeper supplements, for either a single occupancy berth or a share of a twin occupancy berth. Both companies which provide sleeper train services within the UK will allow travellers to purchase either berth as a supplement to a standard class ticket.
	The total cost of the ticket plus sleeper supplement may be higher than the price of a standard open ticket. Therefore, as the guidance to the scheme states at paragraph 7.7, the total cost will be reimbursed in these cases.
	IPSA believes that this will allow Members to obtain a single berth on all sleeper services. Where this is not the case, IPSA would welcome evidence from Members.